Harry Potter and The Imaginary Friend
by Arei-The Peridot Dragon
Summary: working on editing chapters. keep an eye out. What if Imaginary friends were real? What if they could affect the world around them? This is my take on a Magical world with Imaginary friends.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter and The Imaginary Friend.

Don't own Harry Potter, that wonderful right belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Warning: M for language and potential implied situations

Modified as of 6/21/13

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Chapter one: The Begining

At Number 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, there lived a young boy by the name of Harry Potter. He lived with his Aunt Petunia and his cousin Dudley. His room was the little cupboard under the stairs and was magicked to be as large as the smallest bedroom in the home. The young boy was a special boy. Harry Potter was a Wizard.

Young Harry knew quite a few things that had happened in his young life. He knew his parents were killed by a very evil wizard who drew people in with his charms concerning pure blood strength versus non-magical humans and those magicals that were born to them and was comparable to the non-magical tyrant, Hitler. This evil wizard had killed many non-magical's as well as witches and wizards who tried to oppose his dark visions of conquest.

He knew as well that his Aunt Petunia and cousin were his only living blood relatives and thus he would be safe from said wizards supporters while he lived with her safe behind some very powerful spells that prevented those supporters from locating him with magic.

When he'd orginally come to live with his Aunt's family he'd been prone to horrible dreams and he would escape from his bed with its child-safe bars to hide and sleep inside the broom closest below the stairs, who would look for a little boy in a broom closet?

He knew that his Aunt, while she did not quite love him as she loved her Dudley, still cared for him in her own way and did her best to instill him with good manners, kept his prescriptions for his glasses up to date and give him a good scolding when he was bad.

He knew as well that she often hoped that he would prove to be non-magical. He often heard her muttering to herself that she wished any signs of magical ability would just go away. She often tried to teach him how to do 'normal' things in the hopes that he would thrive at it and in those well meaning attempts they found that he was good at and even enjoyed cooking of all things! His Aunt was a hard taskmistress when he was first learning, the wooden spoon she used doubled as a paddle to his hands if he tried to add salt instead of sugar for example or when he tried to touch the burner or cook without her present in the room. To his Aunt, cooking was a delicate and dangerous art that required precise measurements and attention to detail, and they both found some enjoyment in a 'Normal' activity that they could share.

One might ask at this point what part his Aunt Petunia's husband, Vernon played in all of this?

When Harry had first arrived his Uncle had been very against him staying and was adament that he would not shelter a 'Freak' in his house. When Petunia had first explained the magical world to him so he would know about her sister he had reacted...well to say he reacted badly would have been putting it mildly. While Petunia had been able to convience him to let Harry stay, he was blood after all, he in turn managed to convince Petunia that they would be able to 'punish any magically ability out of him' if he did indeed show himself to have said 'Freakish Tendencies'.

Aunt Petunia was able to prevent his Uncle from his more, harsh, reactions of wanting to 'beat' the magic out of him when he'd had his first case of accidental magic and turned the focus more on chore punishents and food punishments like doing yard work or going without dinner. Vernon also favored his own son and tended to yell at Petunia if she tried to show Harry the least bit of attention instead of focusing on spoiling her own son. Petunia did try to insure in the early days that the boys got along but Vernon was quick to counter any punishment to Dudley and instead blamed 'the freak' for anything that went wrong.

This had continued until he was eight years old and he had used magic while home to escape from Dudley and his cruel taunting. He'd ended up on the roof of number 4 Privet Drive and his Uncle was forced to get him down. Vernon had been panting and red-faced by the time he got Harry down, Vernon was very much overweight and having to climb the latter to get the boy down took quite a bit out of the beast of a man.

Vernon had then sent Dudley to a friends house. His aunt had been out of town with her friends for the day. He didn't remember quite what had happened after Vernon sent his cousin away but he knew it had been bad and ever since he had forgotten quite a few memories from before he was eight.

How you ask, did he know all this, when he didn't remember any of it? Simple, he had a magical Imaginary Friend.

His friend was named Beth, and looked how one might imagine J.R.R Tolkien's elves would look. Tall, graceful, with hair the colour of living fire and eyes as bright a green as Harry's own. The only oddity what that she had scales the same colour as her eyes trailing down along her spine. She always wore a soft silvery gown and had a belt with a number of different small blades sheathed to it.

Beth had told him that Imaginary Friends lived on a plane of existence that could just barely interact with his own. Imaginary Friends could show themselves to any human, magical or not, but would only be with a non-magical for as long as they were needed but could not affect anything around their Normal Humans. Because of the lack of a strong magical core in the Non-magicals eventually they would no longer have a strong enough Bond for the human to see their friend.

For Magical Humans however, the Imaginary would remain at that witch or wizards side until their dying day, unless particular situations occurred, because they had a strong enough magical core for the Bond to last.

Harry had laughed when she told him that a Imaginary friend could be anything from a Talking Slug to a mighty Jeweled Dragon though she had warned him to never confuse a Jeweled Dragon with the dragons of his own world.

Beth would only leave two weeks out of every year to make formal reports to her people and have a vacation. Being an Imaginary Friend, she explained, was sort of like a muggle job, and sort of like a required mission for those who wanted to have a higher position amongst their own people. Sadly, the 'Event' that had occurred while he was eight had been during the time she had been gone on such a report and she still blamed herself for not being there to protect him, to prevent the 'Event' from happening. As it was she had felt his peril and had rushed to cross the Barier Between, but it took several hours to cross Worlds.

She'd arrived to find him bloody and beaten, locked within his cupboard. Vernon had apparently left to go drink with some of his friends and Dudley was still out with his friends. Thankfully Aunt Petunia arrived back home within minutes of Beth's arrival and Beth had managed to wake Harry enough to beg to let him use as much of his magic as she could to get his Aunt's attention, at the risk of loosing all of his magic. His core was too weak at that age for her to cast any major magics without causing him potential harm and per her own peoples rules she needed his permission if the spell she cast would potentially drain his core to nothing.

He hadn't wanted to agree at first. He wanted to go back to sleep, wanted to keep forgetting, to just disappear, but he had finally caved, if it meant the loss of his magic and in turn what had happened would never ever happen again he would be fine with that trade off.

He didn't recall much of what happened after that, he'd felt so very tired after Beth used his magic to get his Aunts attention, and he only really remembered that his Aunt had opened the cupboard to find him hurt and she had rushed him to the hospital.

What had followed in the weeks after was a blur to him still with speaking to the police, a divorce case and his Uncle going to prison for a very, very long time at the end of it all.

Aunt Petunia had even managed to get in touch with a nice old man with a fondness of Lemon Drop candies to change Harry's cupboard to a small room as he'd refused to leave it for almost a week after all the court cases were done and she wanted him to have some more space, and the old man had even modified something called 'wards' to prevent Vernon from ever getting onto the propert again and helped Harry recover from what the old man called 'Core Sickness'.

He didn't blame his Aunt or Beth for what happened though. Both were obviously angry with themselves for not being there to prevent the 'Event' but he always told them that he didn't blame them, THEY didn't hurt him.

Things had gotten better as well now that Vernon was gone. Dudley didn't always get his way any more at he did previously due to his fathers insistance and was punished when he did something bad instead of being praised for it and he'd had also been put on a diet that Petunia had long wanted to put the boy on. Harry wasn't sent to bed without food any more, Vernon had often insured that happened though Petunia always made sure he got a good helping of breakfast and lunch and if he was bad he still had to do chores. Harry felt that his life was looking up, despite the fact that his Aunt still seemed to hope he wouldn't 'get that blasted letter'.

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Reviews would be lovely :)


	2. Chapter 2

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

Edited as of 6/21/13

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Chapter Two: Birthday Hijinks

Harry woke up just after dawn, as per his usual and looked around for his glasses which would normally be placed on his nightstand next to his bed. A soft bit of laughter filled his ears as his search continued to prove fruitless and he turned with a mock stern frown to look at the others currently blurry form.

"Alright then, haha, what did you do with them Beth?" he asked with a whine in his voice. On occasion she now moved objects for fun since his 'Core' was getting stronger.

"What did I do with them? Dear Harry, I did nothing. Perhaps if you recall that you fell asleep whilst reading then you will realize where they are, hmm?" Beth gave him a gentle smile that he could just barely make out and then walked over to his writing desk where he kept his few toys.

He frowned slightly as she moved away becoming even more of a blurry blob. He glanced to the side and saw the book he had been reading the night before lying on the bed half open. The book in question was The Hobbit. He blinked, fighting away the last of the sleep induced fog wrapped around his mind and rubbed at his eyes. With a flash of realization and a shout put his hand to his head and found his glasses propped up there. He pulled his glasses back down, his vision clearing and then looked over to Beth.

She was running her fingers over one of the small toys on his desk. He focused on it and grinned happily, it was his Dalek toy, the first toy he had gotten that was his and his alone, received on his ninth birthday shortly after the 'Event'.

He and Dudley had started to get along better now that Vernon was gone, as Vernon had often encouraged Dudley to eat as much as he wanted, take what he wanted and all around encouraging his son to be a bully. With Vernon was gone Aunt Petunia had finally been able to put her foot down instead of having to let things go on. Oh he was still her precious 'Duddle-kins' but he wasn't allowed to be as much of a wild bully and a loose cannon any longer. As such the two had developed an...adversarial friendship of sorts.

While Dudley's favorite game of 'Harry Hunting' had been put to an end the two boys still got into ocasional fights. Now however Harry was allowed to defent himself if Dudley was bullying him but they both understood that when they got caught fighting they would both be doing chores.

Harry found that the best change for him since the 'Event' was that he could watch the telly. He found several morning cartons and afternoon shows to be very enjoyable. The boys got into fights now mostly due to the tv shows and movies each of them liked. Harry favored Star Wars while Dudley favored Star Trek. When it came to Red Dwarf, Dudley adored Rimmer and Harry liked Lister. Both of them however could always agree on one show, Doctor Who. They both agreed that the Doctor was absolutely brilliant and enjoyied watching his many adventures across time, sharing what they would love to see and do if they were Companions of the Doctor.

Harry grinned to himself as he slid off the bed and got dressed. He was planning on a surprise for Dudley's birthday and that was why he wasn't simply going back to sleep to await Dudley's normal 'alarm' which involved him jumping up and down on the stairs right above his cupboard/room. Although the cupboard was expanded with magic it was still, to the rest of the house, the same size. So when Dudley jumped up and down, his rooms entire ceiling shook. He'd managed to hang up a few dangling stars and moons and some self-drawn Daleks so that they bounced when Dudley jumped which Harry found to be amusing.

Harry eased out of the cupboard, glancing around to make sure his Aunt was still asleep. When he confirmed all was clear he headed over to the kitchen still grinning like the cheshire cat. He got together all the supplies he would need. Butter, eggs, milk, flour, cocoa powder, sugar and more. He set to work on making the best cake he'd ever made, knowing that Dudley would be over the moon at the sight of it.

Harry set to work on a seven layer chocolate TARDiS cake, with each layer being separated by the different fruit fillings that Dudley liked such as cherry, strawberry, blueberry and more. Smaller Dalek cakes were also placed on the glass cake plate, appearing to converge on the TARDiS. He hoped fervently that neither his Aunt or his cousin would wake because of the sweet smell of the baking cake. Beth laughed at him when he muttered a few times under his breath 'don't wake up, don't wake up!' and he had glared at her in response, annoyed by the overly knowing smile on her lips but he held back the urge to scold her, timing was everything today.

He was finishing up the last of the decorations as a question came to mind, surprised he hadn't thought to ask it before he glanced to Beth.

"So Beth, um, do all boys get a female Imaginary or what?" he asked.

"Oh dear Harry, no." Beth laughed softly and lifted one of the small Daleks to float around the cake for a moment. "A person's Imaginary can be male or female dependant on the child's need. You needed me. In fact my dear Harry, you Chose me."

Harry stopped and looked up at her again with a blink. "I did?"

"Oh yes. While I had been looking for my own human to bond to, I had only intended to pass through your home. You had a loving family at the time you see, and really seemed to have no need for a Bond. You had your mother, father, a loving godfather and more."

Harry sighed softly, a faint smile at the picture she was painting. He'd seen a picture or two of his mother Lily, but no pictures of his father or the others Beth mentioned and he wondered at what the others looked like.

"Your magic actually lashed out and snared me!" she continued in a mock affronted tone causing him to laugh.

"I'd moved over to you and you just smiled at me my Dear Harry. You won my heart with just that smile."

She suddenly grined and put on a mock conceited look.

"Of course it helped immensely that your eyes match my scales!"

That caused Harry to dissolve into a fit of laughter loud enough to wake his Aunt. He checked the time, still giggling and saw that it was around nine in the morning now and he'd been up since at least five.

He grinned as he finishedthe last of the TARDiS decoration and stood back to look over the placement of each little cake. He nodded to himself and moved to stand to the side. He could hear Aunt Petunia yelling for Dudley to get ready for the trip, they were going to the zoo today, and grinned at Dudley's resulting whoop of excitement filled the air and Harry could hear him running down the stairs, pausing to jump up and down midway.

"Come on! Wake up!" Dudley cried. "Lazy bones! Wake up!"

"Already up Dudders!" Harry called from the kitchen with a snicker.

"Hey now! Don't ruin my fun like...that..." Dudley's voice trailed off as he barreled into the kitchen and came to a halt, staring in awe at the cake.

"What is with all this Ruckus! Boys you had best not be getting into trouble today of all days!" Aunt Petunia said, her voice a bit put off. She came to a likewise surprised halt behind her son at the sight of the cake not having expected it.

Harry took that moment to look over his Aunt and cousin. His Aunt was thin and blonde and actually quite tall. She had her hair up today in a tight no-nonsense bun and wore a faint amount of make up that Harry thought looked quite nice on her. Her face had a natural tightness to it that made it look a bit pinched but it was countered by her developing laugh lines. She was still a no-nonsense woman who loved to gossip but she had changed since divorcing her husband and was able to relax a bit more now that she didn't have to worry quite so much about being a 'proper' wife.

Dudley in contrast was still overweight but not quite as bad as he had been almost three years ago. His face still had a bit of pudge to it but it had thinned out. His eyes before had seemed a watery, dim blue now had a bit more vibrance to them. His hair was blonde like his mothers but a bit thicker and actually had a bit of a healthy sheen to it. Not to say that Dudley wasn't fat, he still was, but he wasn't 'morbidly obese' any more and he was showing signs of better health.

"This is...this is..." Dudley stuttered out. "Blimey Harry! This is ace! You make it all yourself?"

Harry grinned as well, puffing up a little bit with pride as he looked at the two. He stiffened after a moment as Aunt Petunia moved forward eyeing the cake with a critical eye. He gulped and then moved forward to indicate one of the smaller dalek cakes that he'd left on a small plate. She carefully took the plate from Harry and then took the fork Dudley was suddenly offering to her.

Both stood tensely as they waited with baited breath for Aunt Petunia's judgement. She could be quite harsh if the flavoring was off. She took a slow delicate bite of the small cake, chewing and savoring the flavor with a thoughtful look on her face.

The moments passed and Harry began to worry that he had added too much sugar, or maybe too little! Maybe there was too much cocoa powder! He felt a nudge from the side and looked up to see Beth smiling reassuringly down at him and he forced himself to let go of the breath he had been holding and relax. He nodded to her and looked back to Aunt Petunia just as she nodded her head in approval.

"Acceptable." she said.

Harry grinned as Dudley gave him a pat to the back that was just this side of too hard. His aunt suddenly clapped her hands together and shooed them toward the door. The zoo would open soon and she wanted to be there as soon as it opened, she had a schedule set and heaven help them if they were late. Harry snickered at Dudley's mournful glance back at the cake.

They piled into the car, picked up Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss from his home down the road and they had a relatively peaceful drive out to the Zoo as Dudley sat between Harry and Piers which prevented Piers from randomly punching Harry's arm. Things may have changed between Harry and Dudley but Piers still didn't like Harry that much and the feeling was mutual.

When they arrived a the Zoo the boys immediately piled out of the car and rushed for the entrance. They were forced to wait for Aunt Petunia as they didn't have tickets as of yet and a small shoving match between the boys started up briefly before a sharp word from her stopped it from escalating. They went to each exhibit and looked over the animals. Dudley had been eyeing the ice cream cart mournfully and was about to try to throw one of his old tantrums in an attempt to get a cone, he knew very well his mother wouldn't let him have any sweets until after dinner, when the snake exhibit suddenly caught his eye.

"Hey now!" Dudley shouted and ran over to the exhibit, Piers hot on his heels. Harry followed at a more sedate pace. Piers and Dudley both tapped on the glass but the snake didn't move at all. "I think the bleedin' things asleep." Dudley grumbled. Piers nodded in agreement and they both moved off. Harry approached the glass and looked over the snake. He could feel Beth just behind him.

"You should say 'hello'."

She grinned at him and gave him a nudge toward the exhibit, forcing him closer. Harry rolled his eyes and then turned to the large snake. _Why not_? he thought with a shrug.

"Hey there. My names Harry. Sorry 'bout my cousin and his friend. They get a bit loud sometimes." Beth snickered behind him muttering to herself that 'loud' was putting it mildly. He glanced around to make sure no one was looking in his direction and then swatted at her only to have her dodge out of the way with a laugh. When he looked back at the snake he saw that it had raised up to look at him curiously. Harry glanced over the sign on the cage. "Brazil huh? That must have been nice."

He looked up to see the snake shaking it's head and pointing back to the sign with his tail. Harry blinked at that, but he was rather used to odd things happening that he couldn't explain other then labeling it under the heading 'Magic.' He looked back at the sign and saw a note down near the bottom, 'Raised in Captivity.'

"Tough luck there mate." Harry said with a small frown. "Kinda know what that's like, had a rough time of it for a while growing up myself, things have been better these past few years though."

He looks up and started to smile at the snake before suddenly finding himself on the ground, his head banging against the ground hard enough to make him momentarily dizzy. He could dimly hear Piers and Dudley yelling for his Aunt to come look at the snale and he could also make out Beth yelling at the boys in her own language.

He snickered softly, knowing that she is just blowing off steam and that she knew that they two couldn't hear her but he found it funny nonetheless.

Rubbing his head he sat up and spared a glare for Piers who was the one who had knocked him down. He frowned and closed his eyes at the pain, wishing he could pay back Piers somehow and in the next moment he heard his Aunt shrieking. Opening his eyes, he let out a yelp. The glass of the exhibit was gone and the large python was slithering toward him. The Python stopped just by him and nodded it's head.

_'Thankssss amigo! Brazzzil here I come!_'

Harry squawked slightly in surprise and also because of the sudden yank on the back of his shirt as his Aunt wrenched him away from the snake, all the while screaming for the Zoo security. Meanwhile Beth was laughing her arse off on the floor.

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Reviews would be welcome.

Also there will be subtly changes in the begining.

Mostly canon pairings.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(

Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

Yay! Three reviews! Makes me happy :)

excalibur's fire: I'm glad you like my Petunia. Your question is answered in this chappy hope you like!

Smithback: It's an idea for Hermione over Ginny but I do feel that Hermione grounds Ron more then any other female might.

Two votes for Sirius crushing on Snape! I wonder how Snape will react :-D :Hides from our lovable potions master.:

Edited as of 6/24/13

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Chapter 3: A Letter and a Confession

Since the Zoo Incident things had been relatively quiet. Harry found himself being grounded for having released the python. Petunia knew that only magic would have caused the glass of the habitat to disappear and no amount of apologies would change his grounding. He may not have meant to release the animal, she told him, but he had to have meant something to happen as accidental magic was tied to strong emotions. He'd admited finally that he was upset with Piers because of being shoved so violently to the side and hitting his head, that he'd wanted 'something' to happen to the other boy.

Thankfully Harry's grounding was offset by the fact that Pier's wasn't allowed to visit Dudley for a week as Aunt Petunia had seen him shove Harry and she wouldn't tolerate that kine of behaviour when she was around. Pier's got a good scolding both from Petunia and his mother, if Harry had hit his head hard enough on the STONE floor he could have ended up with more then just an egg. Either way Petunia'd been quite short with both Harry and Dudley for a few days after.

The rest of June and most of July passed peacefully, but both boys noticed Petunia's slow decent into melancholy as the month of July passed by and Harry's birthday drew closer. Harry and Dudley did their best to try to cheer her up but nothing seemed to work. They'd catch her from time to time holding a open locket in her hand and staring at it for hours on end.  
When she realized she was being watched she close the locket and put it up in a place where neither boy would be able to reach it. They both knew that the day Harry was born was the last day she'd seen Harry's mum before she'd been killed.

Neither boy pushed her as they knew despite her love of gossip she was truly a very private person and prefered to mourn in private and not be bothered. Both boys however were shocked when one day she picked up the mail and went deathly pale. She'd stood there for several long minutes staring at nothing before realizing the boys were trying to get her attention.

Her face darkened with anger for a few moments before going blank of any emotion and she ordered Harry and Dudley to go to Dudley's room which left them confused as they were normally sent to their respective rooms when they were in trouble.

A few moments later they realized why she gave the order she did as they heard shouting and crashes from downstairs followed by what they both would later describe as a howl of pure sorrow and rage that left them both worried and fearful.

Several worry filled hours later, neither boy was up to watching the telly, they heard a soft knock at the door before it opened to show Petunia. She looked a mess, even though she tried to clean up they could still see faint lines where her mascara had run over her cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy and her hair had fallen loose from it's bun.

"Harry, follow me." she said in a soft voice. "Dudley, stay here son, I'll want to talk to you later as well sweetie. Watch some telly, alright? Neither of you are in trouble."

Harry and Dudley shared a look before Harry stood to follow his aunt and Dudley turned to the telly. Aunt Petunia led Harry outside to the back garden and sat down on the bench. She indicated for Harry to take a seat beside her and he sat down carefully, still a bit nervous at her odd demeanor. She was quiet for several long minutes.

"Harry is your...friend...here?" She asked softly.

He looked around a moment, Beth had remained near Petunia when the boys had gone to Dudley's room, now however she was sitting nearby watching him and his aunt. He nodded to his aunt and indicated where Beth was sitting. Petunia nodded stiffly in response.

"Very well. She can answer any other questions, for now please just listen to me."

Her voice was rough with an emotion that Harry couldn't place so he simply nodded in response not wanting to upset her further. His aunt remained silent for several more minutes before starting to talk.

"Your grandparents were...hippys. Very much into the whole 'free love' thing. When your mother turned eleven and received a very random letter from a very strange man claiming to be a wizard, they were...doubtful at first. Once the man performed some magic everyone was excited at first...even me."

She went silent for a few and Harry tried to imagine the picture his aunt was painting for him. He could tell from her expression though that things...didn't end well.

"At first, things were great. Lily got her wand, her books, her robes,everything. We talked about it and I was blind for some time to the realization that I wouldn't be going with her. I was the older sister...I had not gotten a letter on my eleventh birthday...I would be staying behind while my little sister, my dearest friend, would be going to a wonderful, magical world that I could never truly be a part of." she let out a soft sigh.

"I will admit, I became jealous and angry at my sister for leaving me. I blamed Magic for taking her from me. Then I met HIM and decided that I would be normal, perfectly normal and turned my back on my parents and my sister for that normalcy. I still loved her, but I could not stand to be near her for long periods of time. I left her wedding as soon as it was polite to do so and hardly talked to her while I was there. I was there for your birth and left shortly after wishing her luck raising you and...told her I hoped you would turn out 'normal' as I left. Then...and then..."

His aunt broke off and covered her face with her hands, leaning forward and letting out a soft cry. He reached out to place a hand on her arm in comfort and found himself in her arms in one of the few hugs she had ever given to him.

"And then Magic took her away from me again! She was killed!" Petunia was sobbing softly as she whispered her words to him. "I never got to say goodbye. Never got to make up with her. And then we had you to take care of. Despite all the silence between us she still Trusted me to see to you! Oh HE raged at having to take care of you, fed my anger at her death. I don't excuse my behaviour, how can I!? I let HIM feed that rage and sorrow. I let HIM convince me we could stamp out your magic when I Knew better! I Knew that it was the same as having blue eyes or brown eyes. It's genetic, you have it or you don't but I let myself be blinded! I am so sorry for that. So sorry...oh Lily I'm sorry!"

Petunia fell into sobs and Harry did his best to hold her and comfort her even as tears fell from his own eyes as he witnessed her break down in front of him due to all the 'what if's' that he knew was running through her mind. Beth moved a bit closer and started to hum a soft melody, even though his aunt couldn't hear it he could feel a tingle over his skin that helped calm his own emotions and knew that Beth was using his magic to produce a calming aura around the two. It was still several minutes before she stopped crying and several more before she was able to compose herself. She tightened her hold on Harry for a moment and then let him go wiping at her eyes. She held out the letter that was sitting on the bench beside her.

"This is your letter Harry. Your way into the Magical world. Now the Headmaster of the school wanted you to grow up with a normal childhood and there is a reason for that. You see when your parents died they were killed by a spell that has no counter and which kills a person instantly." she snapped her fingers and Harry jumped his eyes wide.

"The odd thing Harry, and why the Headmaster wanted you to have a Normal life, is that the man who killed them tried to hit you with the same curse, you lived and your parents killer seemed to just vanish. Almost everyone in the Magical community thinks you killed him! Because of this you are famous."

Harry's jaw dropped at that and he stared at his aunt in shock. He couldn't imagine it. How could he as a baby have reflected an unblockable spell? He immediately looked to Beth and saw her shaking her head. She waved his attention back to his aunt and he turned to Petunia still stunned.

"Was it your...friend?" his aunt asked, having noticed him looking away. He shook his head at her question and she let of a soft sigh.

"Well, perhaps we will figure out the mystery later yes? There are some other things now to go over. Lily actually married into a very well off family in the magical world. I believe the Potter line is supposed to be a 'Founding Family' and hold quite a bit of political sway in the Magical world. I'm not fully sure on the influence mind you. I did avoid them." Harry nodded at that.

"Now you need to understand that you need to be respectful to anyone you meet because of this. Even if you don't want to be friends with them, try to be polite and it's not just because you could need an alliance with them later on but also because..." she sighed at this and looked over to him.

"Harry, the Headmaster doesn't believe that the monster that killed your parents is dead, no one found his body. Also several people who were his followers are free even now under the claim that a spell was used on them that took away their free will. I don't know how many are free that simply paid off their judges, if it can happen in our world I don't doubt it can happen in the magical world, so there is a chance that there are people who will want you dead or will want to use your fame for their benefit. Be Careful and try to build allies where you can. You may even meet the kids of those who were...Death Eaters I think he called them? At any rate, try to keep this in mind 'Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.' Do you understand? I don't want to loose you too. I know I haven't shown you much love Harry, but I DO care about you and I don't want you to be hurt or killed, especially if the Headmaster is right."

Harry nodded again at his aunts words and looked at the letter in his hand. She stood slowly and let out another sigh.

"I have to go respond to the letter. I refuse to take you to get your supplies, the memories would be too much for me, and besides I never went into the Alley." she said softly.

Harry nodded and then stood up to move over to his aunt. He carefully hugged her before moving back and looking up at her watery eyes.

"Aunt 'Tuney, I'm sure mum forgives you. I do. I love you." he said and gave her another hug. His aunt's eyes watered up even more at that and she nodded before going back into the house.

Harry sat back down on the bench and turned the letter over in his hands a few times before opening it and reading over:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
Headmaster: Ablus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin; First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock and Head Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards.)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find

enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later then July 31st.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress.

Harry carefully folded the letter back up and put it back in it's envelope. He would check the contents of his supplies list later. He turned to look at Beth who had taken a seat beside him and leaned against her. To him, she was solid, and could find comfort in her arms while his thoughts spun with the information that currently overloaded his brain.

"How did I live when mum and dad didn't?" he asked in a bewildered voice as Beth ran her fingers through his untameable hair.

"I'm not certain, but the Headmaster's theory is what most likely happened." she said softly.

"What did he think, and is he Lemon-drop man?" Harry asked.

"Yes dear Harry he is Lemon-drop man." she laughed softly at his title for the elder man.

"You're mother was very skilled in charms." Beth taps the scar on Harry's forehead lightly. "This scar looks like the rune called Sowilo. Sowilo was used by ancient witches and wizards in a number of different ways. If used one way it is a shield, used another it is a sword. It is the rune of active triumph and of warding from wounds and defeat. The Headmaster believes that as she died she cast a protective charm on you and that charm forced the magic of the killing curse to reflect onto the wizard who cast it. Her magic and the magic of that killing curse combined to create the mark, at least in theory. We don't actually know for sure mind you but it is the most reasonable possibility."

Harry nodded a bit at that before looking up at the setting sun. My old life is over, he thought to himself, and my new life begins filled with a danger I'm not sure I can handle. He sighed and cuddled closer to his friend as they watched the sunset together.

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Review please!


	4. Chapter 4

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

Edited as of 6/25/13

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Chapter 4: Secret Keepers and Giants.

The next morning Harry woke up later then his usual time as he found he had a hard time sleeping due to his excitment about going to a wizarding school. He made his way to the kitchen after he dressed to make a small bite to eat and then shuffled out to sit on the couch. His aunt woke up a little while after he did and made up some tea for him to sip as they waited for the person Petunia had called to take Harry to get his supplies. Dudley was still dead to the world and wouldn't be up for another hour or so. Harry glanced at the time and saw that it was only around eight thirty. The silence in the room was a bit strained and Harry got a thoughtful look on his face. He nodded to himself and looked to his aunt.

"Aunt Petunia?" he said.

"Hmm? Yes Harry?" she turned to look at him, her cup of tea was sitting mostly untouched in front of her.

"You said yesterday I have to be careful who I trust right?" She nodded at his words. "Do you know anyone I should trust?"

She blinked at that and nodded slowly. "Yes. There is the Headmaster of course, Dumbledore. If he says you can trust someone take his advice to heart. There's Hagrid as well, he'll be taking you to get your school supplies today."

Her face grew a bit more pinched then normal as if she'd bitten into a lemon. Harry had to bite back a grin at the look on her face and wondered who could have annoyied her so badly.

"A boy Lily was friends with and lived down the road from us, Snape. He was always hanging out with her, I think...well that's of no concern now, the past is the past. He was a git growing up though and is probably a git even now. Never liked your father mind you, two fought like cats and dogs when they could, but because of his friendship with her you would be safe to trust him if you find you need help."

Harry nodded thoughtfully at that and then sighed. Beth reached over from beside him and ruffled his hair a bit. Petunia stiffened when she noticed the sudden movement of his hair and looked away from him to stare at the walls again. He recalled something Beth mentioned suddenly.

"Beth said I have a godfather?" he asked slowly. "Is he dead too?"

He saw his Aunt stiffen and another look of loathing came to her face. She stood up abruptly banging against the low table in front of her and almost causing her tea to spill and Harry shifted back as far from her as he could as she started to pace around the room. He looked to Beth and saw pure confusion on her face and she shrugged her shoulders when she caught his gaze.

"Don't know why she's so pissed, dear Harry. Let's give her a moment." Harry nodded at that and they both settled down to wait while Petunia regained control.

She finally seemed to calm down enough to speak she turned back to Harry while straightening her hair and clothes.

"Your godfather's name is Sirius Black. That foul piece of filth betrayed your parents to their killer." she said in a cold, detached voice. "He was..." She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Dumbledore said there is a spell that allows a place to become hidden. You need a...a 'Secret Keeper' to perform the spell and make a particular building unlocatable. Black was their keeper and betrayed them. It's his fault my sister is dead!"

Beth had gone still as Petunia started to speak. By the time Petunia had finished talking her eyes were glowing and her black pupils were gone leaving a solid glow of green in the white of her eyes.

"LIES!" she shouted suddenly, causing Harry to jump and spill his tea. He scrambled over to Petunia, having only seen Beth this angry once before during the 'Event'. "Black was not the Keeper! Did they even hold a trial for him?!"

Petunia started at Harry's sudden movement and held him close and then went still as several items in the house floated about an inch above their respective spots. Harry could feel the unintentional pull on his core but the draw wasn't all that much. Harry stuttered out Beth's response to Petunia and looked up to his aunt who had gone pale at the relayed words. She slumped onto the couch behind her taking Harry with her as she did so, so they were both sitting down. Beth seemed to realize she was spooking them both and took slow breaths to calm herself. Everything settled back into its proper place.

"I don't know if he had a trial or not." Petunia finally said in a soft voice. "I didn't ask. I thought he deserved what he got, being tossed in prison. He wasn't their Keeper? Truly? Oh my word."

"Twas not Black. Harry had chosen me before they hid under Fidelius. I saw the spell cast. Twas Pettigrew whom was to guard their secret." Beth said through clenched teeth. Harry relayed her words.

"Ah. That would explain why Black went after him then. Most thought he was trying to kill a witness to what he caused, he knew what had happened and wanted to avenge them then." Petunia was blinking rapidly as she processed the information. Harry was quite stunned himself at the situation.

"So he's wrongly imprisoned?" Harry asked his aunt hesitantly, feeling a little bit of hope for this unknown godfather of his.

"Yes and no Harry." His aunt let out a sigh and smoothed out her dress. "It seems from what your friend says he is innocent of your parents deaths, but in his grief he apparently chased after Pettigrew and killed him and several normal people, muggles they call us. Ideally he could claim a Temporary Insanity defense, but would still most likely have jail time."

Beth nodded in agreement at that and sighed. "Ya know my way's Harry. Justice is important to me, but one must follow the laws of the land. Your Godfather is innocent of one crime but looks to be guilty of another from what your aunt has told us. We must confirm if he had a trial however, especially if he is still being blamed for the death of your parents. At the very least we can aquit him of that charge and hopefully we can aleviate his sentence for the other charges."

Harry nodded and again relayed Beth's words to his Aunt. They then fell into a contemplative silence. They stayed that way for several minutes before a sudden booming knock sounded at the front door which caused all three of them to jump in surprise. They all laughed at their reactions and Harry shared a bemused look with Beth before Petunia stood to open the door to reveal a giant of a man standing on the front porch.

Petunia let out a startled shout and hurried him into the house muttering about telling him to come dressed as a 'normal'. He had to duck to avoid hitting the door frame but eased inside easily enough and had to stoop constantly to avoid banging his head against the ceiling. Dudley had run down the stairs having been woken by the knock and froze midway down the stairs with a undignified squeak.

Harry blinked a bit, startled a the mans appearance, he was definitly not expecting this! He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be able to fit in the house even stooped as he was. His hair was either black or dark brown and was bushy but looked to have been tamed as much as possible, he had a matching bushy beard that seemed to hide his face. His beady eyes were a deep brown that made them appear to be black. He wore a massive fur coat to fight off the chill of the morning but otherwise looked quite normal despite his sheer size.

"Might cold today, tried to straighten up much as I could there like ya asked Mrs. Dursley!"

"It's Ms. Evans again Hagrid." Petunia said a bit stiffly.

"Ah, right. Sorry 'bout that! Awful thing that happened." Hagrid shuffled over as he could and started to sit down on the couch. Harry let out a shout to stop him as Beth frantically scrambled away from her previous seat.

"Blimey, what's all the shoutin' for 'Arry?" Hagrid asked in surprise.

"You...um...you almost sat on Beth." Harry said.

"Beth?" Hagrid looked around with a frown. "I don' see any animals..."

Hagrid broke off and his eyes widened comically as he turned back to Harry. He then broke out into a booming laugh and slammed his hand against his knee.

"'Arry, your not havin' me on are ya! Ya have an Imaginary?! That's great that is! Best friend a wizard or witch could ever ask for." He roared.

Harry and Aunt Petunia simply nodded and Harry had to bite back his laughter at Beth's affronted look, she looked like she was still quite upset about almost being sat on. It didn't hurt her from what she'd told him, but she could feel when someone walked through her and said it was a very disconcerting feeling. She said that it was similar to a ghost walking through a person and that he might very well know the feeling if he wasn't careful while at Hogwarts.

"Here now 'Arry, let me look at ya!" Harry grinned a bit and moved closer to Hagrid. After a moment Hagrid looked like he was about to cry and his voice was thick with emotion. "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby! Look a lot like your dad ya do, but you got your mum's eyes."

"That he does." Petunia said softly. "Hagrid we have something important to share that you MUST take to Dumbledore after you get Harry's supplies, do you understand me?"

"Blimey, something big? I'll get it right ter him, ya have my word P'tunia." Hagrid sat up a bit straighter and took on a serious expression.

"Beth, Harry's Imaginary says she was there for that Secret Keeper spell Lily and James cast. She says Sirius Black was not the Keeper, Pettigrew was."

"SAY WHAT?!"

Hagrid shouted and stood up abruptly banging his head against and through the ceiling which cause Harry and Dudley, both of whom were staying quiet until that moment, to break into laughter. There was muffled shouting as Hagrid struggled to get free and as he did get himself loose bits of the ceiling fell to the ground, so many white bits were stuck to his hair and beard that he looked like he'd been walking through a snow storm.

"...Bugger all! Sorry P'tunia, language I know." He said quickly when he saw Petunia's angry face. "Sorry 'bout the ceilin' too. Lemme fix that."

He took out an umbrella from under his coat and waved it at the ceiling while muttering something under his breath. The hole disappeared with a small sputtering flash. The boys ooh'ed at the display of magic.

"I'd ah...really apperciate if ya don't mention that ter anyone at Hogwart's." Harry nodded his head quickly, quite in awe still at the display. Petunia let out a small huff at that.

"Alright then. Make's a bit of sense if he went after Pettigrew like he did if he knew 'bout that. Dunno how much good he did considerin' the blast killed several muggles, but I'll be tellin' Dumbledore the news. Harry," Hagrid turned to him at that. "Ya be glad you have an Imaginary, rare to have one these days, but the Ministry's got a mirror that'll show a Wizard or Witches Imaginary an' we can get her testimony right quick. We'll do what we can for yer godfather, ya here? Let's be off then, gotta get to Gringotts."

Harry nodded at that and moved to follow Hagrid as he left the house, both happy that they would have a way to prove his godfather was innocent when it came to involvment in his parents death and saddened that they might not be able to do more for him since it was likely he had still cause the death's of several people.

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please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Paste your document here...

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

For any who having any questions want to cover this now. As you may realize Harry is going to Diagon Alley at least a week or so before his birthday, so Hagrid will not be picking up the Stone just yet. No meet and greet with Quirell either. :P

Also on his birthday he met Draco at Madam Malkin's when he got his robes. I will still have him meeting Draco, but not there as Draco is not getting his robes just yet.

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Chapter 5: Galleons and Goblins

"Alright there Harry?" Hagrid asked in a concerned voice as they got of the Knight Bus. Harry waved his hand to Hagrid as he leaned against a street lamp. Harry was quite pale after that wild ride and was struggling to keep his breakfast down. He straightened up finally and gave Hagrid a weak grin. Hagrid smiled in response and put a hand on Harry's shoulder leading him over to a very run-down looking pub that sat between a large book store and a record store to either side. The other people on the street seemed to pass by the place without even looking at it. Harry had the feeling that only he, Hagrid and Beth could see it.

Harry's eyes widened with realization and he spun around to look to Beth. She was sitting at the edge of the sidewalk with her head between her knees. Her flame coloured hair hid her face and he moved over to stand by her. Hagrid had started for the pub, but seeing that Harry wasn't following him moved to stand behind and to the side of Harry.

"Yer Imaginary doin' alright? The Knight bus can be real harsh on new timer's."

"Tell him I will be fine, dear Harry. Merely need a moment." Beth mumbled loud enough for Harry to hear.

Harry relayed her message and the two Magical's stood side by side watching the flow of pedestrian traffic for several minutes. Beth finally stood and brushed her dress off even though there was no dirt upon it. She turned to Harry with a stern look on her face.

"Unless it is an emergency, we are never travelling that way again."

Harry nodded in agreement and the three moved over to the pub.

"Welcome ta the Leaky Cauldron. Famous place it is."

Harry and Beth both looked a bit doubtful. The outside of the place was worn and very much in neat of a new coat of paint. As they stepped inside and their eyes acclimated to the dim light within their joint opinion didn't change much. Oh the place was clean, no doubt about that, but the chairs, tables and counters all looked to be old and worn, antique even. They both paused as the chatter died instantly upon their entrance into the establishment. Of course, the denizens all looked friendly enough, each one waving or calling out a hello to Hagrid.

"Looks like our friend visits here often, eh?" Beth said softly.

"Your usual, Hagrid?" The bartender started to reach for an empty glass.

"Can't today Tom, on Hogwarts business." Said Hagrid his hand moving to setting on Harry's shoulder. Harry saw Beth face palm out of the corner of one eye.

At first he didn't understand why she did that until he heard Tom's resultant 'Good Lord...is this? Can it be?.' The next thing he knew the denizens of the pub were swarming around him and Hagrid like a bunch of ants that had found a sugar cube. He was tempted to laugh as he saw Beth frantically trying to dodge everyone, finally bein forced onto the bar top itself and was letting out a steady stream on insults, mostly along the lines of 'big oaf', 'stupid git' and 'bring unwanted attention on Harry.' He tuned her out to try to pay attention to the excited throng around him.

"Bless my soul, Harry Potter...what an honor." was whispered from the old bartender before he rushed around the bar and shook Harry's hand with a trembling grip. "Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back!"

"Can't believe I'm meetin' Harry Potter himself!" one woman said.

"So proud, Mr. Potter, so proud!"

"...I'm all a flutter!"

The voices all seemed to blend together as the crowd bustled around Harry and Hagrid. Harry was faintly amused that several people kept coming back as if through a line just to shake his hand again. Mostly though he felt distinctly overwhelmed. His Aunt had warned him he was well known for the defeat of a dark wizard, but really this kind of a welcome seemed a bit much. Hagrid's voice finally boomed out to separate the crowd.

"Alright then. Must get on. Lots to buy! Come along, Harry."

Hagrid kept a firm grip on Harrys shoulder and guided him through the throng to the exit at the back of the pub. Beth followed them, careful to avoid anyone who tried to follow them to the door. Hagrid led Harry and Beth over to the brick wall and both of them waited, mildly confused while Hagrid seemed to start counting the bricks.

"Have you been here before Beth?" Harry whispered to his friend.

"No. You're parents went into hiding shortly after I bonded to you, they weren't able to leave often and even when they could leave they did not take you them, thus I could not follow them."

Harry nodded a bit at that. She'd told him before that she was isolated to either the grounds of the building he resided in or to within a half mile radius. A building he 'resided in' would have to be a building he spent at least 4 hours a day within. That would count his old primary school, the house on Privet drive, and soon Hogwarts. She would then be able to patrol the building to watch for any potential danger and would then be able to report said danger to him. It was how he'd been able to avoid a majority of his cousins' 'Harry hunting' moods.

He also knew from previous conversations with Beth that no one got the same Imaginary. As becoming an Imaginary was a stepping block for the people in her realm to obtain higher ranks and showed that they could be responsible for the mental wellbeing for another (for magical's it was the mental and physical wellbeing) he knew it was a one time chance to prove their worth. She never would tell him what 'rank' each Imaginary was trying to achieve, though he was bursting with curiosity about her realms ways and history.

He tuned back into the reality around him when he heard the grinding sound of brick against brick. He looked back to Hagrid and his eyes widened as he watched the bricks shift and meld into a wide archway that led to a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome," Hagrid said with a smile and a wave toward the street. "to Diagon Alley."

Hagrid led them down the twisting street that was bustling with activity. The passed a shop selling cauldrons of all sizes and all types; pewter, copper, brass and silver! Harry wondering why in the world one would need a silver cauldron! He was about to ask Hagrid when the Apothecary caught his eyes. Signs were up listing ingredients like Beetles Eyes and Dragon Liver. His eyes widened a bit at the last and then a loud 'HOOT' caused him to jump and whip his head back the other way. Eelops Owl Emporium was the next shop selling owls of different breeds; Tawny, Screech, Brown and more! The next shop sold brooms, several kids were clusters around the display window and talking excitedly to each other.

"...Nimbus Two Thousand!"

"...fastest ever!"

"...wish I could get it!"

Harry blinked a bit at that realizing that witches on brooms was a real thing and then went back to looking around, his head whipping back and fourth. There was a shop for robes, for quills and parchment, potion bottles of glass or crystal, books of spells and so much more! Only the gentle nudges from Beth kept him moving forward but he came to a halt when he saw the massive building they were approaching.

The building was a pure white like untouched snow. It towered over all the other buildings in the alley. The doors were a burnished bronze and to one side of the doors in a uniform of scarlet and gold...

"Yeah, that's a goblin. Be respectful like." Hagrid murmured to Harry as they walked up the white steps to the main doors. The goblin was a good head shorter then Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and long fingers. He had a look about him that made Harry think of a wise and clever old pirate. The goblin bowed to them as they walked inside to a small hall with yet another set of doors, silver this time. There were engraved words upon the door and Harry paused a moment to read them;

'Enter, stranger, but take heed,  
Of what awaits the sin of greed.  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors,  
A treasure that was never yours  
Thief, you have been warned, beware,  
Of finding more then treasure there.'

"Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it." Hagrid said as they passed through the silver doors.

"Oh indeed Dear Harry," said Beth with an almost cold grin. "Goblins are known even in our realm for their skills with traps and their love of gold. Show respect at all times, as Hagrid said."

Harry nodded at her and tried to look around the room a bit more cautiously then he was naturally inclined to. There was at least a hundred goblins within the main room sitting on tall stools behind a long counter, some scribbling away in large ledgers, some counting out coins. He saw a bushy haired girl with her parents exchanging british pounds for the coins one goblin was counting. Several goblins were leading their customers down to different doors or leading them back from said numerous doors. Hagrid lead them over to the counter and a goblin that didn't look to be busy.

"Morning to ya," Hagrid said with a smile. "We're here ter make a withdrawal from Mr. 'Arry Potter's safe."

"You have his Key then, sir?"

"Yep, let's see. Put it in this pocket if I remember right." Hagrid reached into one of his pockets and then into another. And then another. And then yet another!

"How many pockets does he have?" Beth asked both in surprise and in irritation.

Harry shrugged in response and then started as Hagrid pulled out a tiny gold key and a mouse! He handed the Key to the goblin, then gave the mouse an affectionate pet before putting it back in his pocket. Harry was surprised that the mouse made no move to get away but happily went back into the pocket it came from. Beth and Harry shared an equally incredulous look.

"Everything looks to be in order." The goblin said and he turned to call over his shoulder. "Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin who offered them a polite bow and led them toward one of the doors. Beyond the door was a narrow stone passageway lit by flaming torches. The passage sloped steeply downwards and had little railway tracks on it. Harry wondered what the point of the tracks were without a cart but then Griphook gave a whistle.

They all piled into the cart and Griphook gave a start when the cart expanded to hold not three but four individuals though Hagrid still has some difficulties getting settled. Griphook puffed up slightly and a very nasty sneer came to his lips.

"Whomever you are you had best leave now before the protections kick in."

"I am no Thief!" Beth said affronted and looked to Harry.

"Sorry sir, she's my Imaginary." Harry said quickly."Will the protections hurt her?"

"Ah, truly?" Griphooks face smoothed back out and he gave what Harry assumed was a smile toward the extra seat where Beth sat. "We have our magics set to accept and accommodate those with an Imaginary. She?" Harry nodded. "She will be fine. Though as a note Mr. Potter, do not ask if we know of anyone else with an Imaginary, it is a private matter for a witch or wizard."

"Oh! Of course Mr. Griphook! Thank you for the warning, I don't want to end up being rude." Harry said with a grin.

Griphook nodded in response to Harry's thanks and then they were off. Harry was immediately reminded of the time he and Dudley had ridden the rollercoaster the year before and let out a whoop of joy as they whizzed at high speed down the tunnel. There was a roar and burst of fire at one point and Harry tried to twist around to see if it was a dragon or not but they had already passed the adjoining tunnel the noise came from. The came to a halt in front of a door and Harry climbed out of the cart with another whoop of joy.

"That was fantastic!" he shouted and turned to look at the others.

Hagrid was looking green and stumbled over to lean against the stone wall, pressing his forehead to the cool stone. Beth looked fine as she exited the cart and looked faintly amused at Hagrid's reaction. Harry looked between the two and suddenly frowned.

"Hey, why is he sick now and you aren't? When we were on the Knight Bus, you got ill after the ride and Hagrid was fine!" He asked in a curious voice.

"The Knight Bus, squished together to get us through tight spots, thus squashing us as well." Beth answered as Hagrid was still unable to talk. "That's was put me off and made me ill. I think Hagrid is ill now because of all the 'ups' and 'downs' we just went through, the Knight Bus just went left and right mostly and if it hit any hills it wasn't noticeable. You did fine with the cart yourself Dear Harry, not so much with the Bus."

Harry thought about it a moment and then nodded. It made a certain amount of sense, and if Hagrid was used to the Knight Bus as a mode of travel he'd long gotten used to the squashing sensation. Hagrid straightened up at last and signaled to Griphook that he was well enough to continue. Griphook nodded and moved to open the door. There was a billow of smoke and as it cleared Harry gasped in surprise. He had known from his Aunt that his father came from a wealthy family but the amount inside still staggered him. There were mounds and mounds of gold coins, piles of silver and then heaps of bronze. Hagrid gave Harry a nudge to get him inside and gave him a bag.

"Alright, time for a little lesson 'Arry. The gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones Sickles an' the bronze are Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. We're goin' to take enough to last for a few terms so you don't have to come down here too often."

"But the cart ride was fun!" Harry said with a grin.

"You'll be needin' someone to come with ya each time 'Arry." Hagrid said going a little green again. "I'd rather not be put through that more then I have ta."

Harry laughed in response and helped Hagrid fill the bag he'd brought. It seemed to hold more then was possible but Harry put that thought aside. They headed back for the cart.

"Can we go slower headin' back?" Hagrid asked in a hopeful voice as they piled into the cart.

"One speed only." came Griphooks reply. Harry let out another whoop, Beth laughed, and Hagrid whimpered.

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Please review! I do appreciate the feedback! I'll be trying to put out several chapters a week. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

No one else looking to vote on the sirius/snape thing? No one else with ideas for Harry's beau? Sad Panda!

Yay review!

excalibur's fire: Good questions all. Imaginary's show to children or those with a child-like minds, thus you could find an Imaginary binding to an adult if they have a child-like mind.  
Imaginary's WILL NOT attach themselves to a Sociopathic or Psychopath child whither by nature or nurture. If an imaginary is attached to a child from birth and that child despite having their Imaginary goes Socio/Psycho (Ie: torturing animals/people and collecting 'spoils'), they will leave that child due to their own laws forbidding them from helping dark wizards. An Imaginary that stays in that situation? Bad things happen to the Imaginary. I hope this will answer if Riddle boy has one. :P

In a household with siblings you can have a Imaginary for each kid, but normally only if the siblings do not get along, AT ALL. ie: twin boy and girl, no friendship between the two, possibly even hate between the two, girl gets a Cat Imaginary, boy gets a Frog Imaginary.

While Harry will not be able to see another's Imaginary, Beth will be able to see her fellows, but as it is a private matter, she would not reveal who has an Imaginary unless it is an emergency of epic proportions. Of course it would be easy to peg another person with an Imaginary if they are talking to thin air constantly of course. And she might very well know some of the other Imaginary's.

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Chapter 6: purebreds and Purebloods.

After the visit to Gringotts, Hagrid led Harry to get his robes, potion supplies, books (he grabbed each year of potions after finding it looked similar to cooking but with more lethal consequences, he figured it would be fun to look through), parchment and quills and the resultant pile of supplies in Harry's arms prompted Hagrid to lead him over to a shop selling trunks and bags with expanded insides. Harry decided to get a trunk with two 'drawers'. When the lid was opened one way it would get him access to his clothes, another and he could get to his school supplies. There was also a charm on it to automatically shrink it down when he twisted the crest, and thus the trunk shrunk to the size of a small paperback book. Harry grinned at that and fiddled with the crest for a few moments, fascinated by the charm before a small thunk to his head from Beth made him realize he was probably wasting Hagrid's time.

The next stop was to the wand shop, Ollivander's. Harry left that shop feeling a mite bit uncomfortable. Oh he got a nice wand; Holly wood and Phoenix feather core, eleven inches, supple, but what left him uncomfortable was finding out that his wand was considered a 'brother' wand to the one who had killed his parents since the cores they had were provided by the same phoenix, and said phoenix only gave two feathers to Ollivander. Beth also seemed to be a bit put out by that information.

"Fate," she'd said, "has a bad habit of kicking your feet out from under you and landing you in a pile of dung. I don't like it. Nor do I like the fact that these people cannot say the fools name."

Harry had nodded a bit at that. He'd found out that his parents killer was simply refered to by most as 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' instead of by his actual name. It took some wheedling, but he final got the actual name out of Hagrid, Voldemort.

"That cannot be his real name." Beth had said with a frown.

"Why's that?"

"The name translates to either 'Theft from Death' or 'Flight from Death', it sounds like a self assigned moniker more then anything."

"Huh, maybe."

Hagrid had interrupted their contemplation and led Harry over to the Owl emporium with a grin. Harry and Hagrid both had to move out of the way to let out a happy bushy haired girl with a kitten in her arms followed by her parents.

"I know yer birthdays 'bout a week away still 'Arry but I wanted ter get ya a gift while we're here." Beth stopped Harry's immidiate reaction which would have been to decline Hagrid's offer. "Eeylop's carries owls mainly but they also carry toad's an' cat's. Toads went outta fashion a while back and cat's make me sneeze so I'll be gettin' ya an' owl. Dead useful too, carry yer mail an' everythin'! You go on an' look at the other critters while I get yer owl."

Harry and Beth moved further into the shop while Hagrid turned to the owls. Harry passed right by the toads and went straight for the cats. He had a fondness for kittens. He saw a boy leaning over a small container filled with pure black kittens. He was pale with a pointy face, white-blond hair and blue eyes. Harry carefully reached to pet some of the black kittens as well.

"Beautiful aren't they? Purebred the whole lot!" The boy said with a smug grin. "Eeylop's is finally moving up by selling these."

"Whats wrong with a good tabby?" Harry asked with a blink.

"This lot aren't purebred. Like Muggleborns, inferior stock." the boy frowned a bit. "Well, better then muggleborns from what my father says. Muggleborns steal magic from purebloods which is why we end up with squibs!"

"Well that doesn't make sense." Harry said with a frown.

"Fine then, what DOES make sense?" The boy stood and crossed his arms.

"Alright so...from what I know magic is genetic, like being born to parents where your mom is redheaded but your dad is blonde, you have an equal chace to be a redhead or a blonde, right?" The boy nodded with a small sneer on his lips.

"Ok, so lets use the cats. Black cats are magical, and the tabbies are muggles, right? So you," Harry points at the boy "have a pair of black cats has a litter and one of them is a tabby, the tabby goes off on it's own to find it's own mate and have it's own family. Now I have a pair of black cats and end up with a tabby as well and that one does it's own thing." The boy nodded again the sneer starting to fade as he followed Harry's reasoning.

"Now lets say that it's been about fifteen generations since then, and the non-magic descendents of our magic cats get together. They have a litter of five, four of which are tabbys, but one is solid black. The new owner traces the litters back and then finds that there are black cats in the genetic history of her tabbys. See? No theft, just dormant genes becoming dominant." He could see a very proud look on Beth's face at his solid reasoning.

The blonde boy blinked again at Harry's reasoning, not able to find any immediate fault with it. He shook his head though and threw up his hands.

"We don't have a way to prove if your right though." he said.

"We might!" Harry said with a grin as he bounced on his toes. "You said you're a pureblood yourself, right? So you keep a family tree?"

"Of course!" the boy said as if offended that Harry thought otherwise.

"Muggles sometimes keep family trees too. So we try to find a muggleborn, see if they have a family tree, and ask if we can view it to see if they trace things far back enough to find a magical ancestor. If they don't have a family tree, we ask another muggleborn."

The boy looked thoughtful for several minutes and then grinned almost coldly.

"Twenty galleons."

"What?"

"Twenty Galleons IF you're right. Unless you can't afford it." The boys sneer was back.

Harry felt a small flash of anger at his tone but quickly pushed it down and held out his hand.

"Agreed. If we DO find a Squib in a Muggleborns family tree you owe me twenty galleons, the tree has to go back at least twenty generations though, preferably more. If we don't find anything I'll owe you twenty galleons. We both have to be there to ask, we both have to agree on which muggleborn, and we DO NOT bully them to give us the information. Also if I'm right you help me publish the findings as a joint venture between us, agreed?"

"Fine, as if this would work. Draco Malfoy." Draco reached to shake Harrys hand and seal the deal.

"Harry Potter, pleased to meet you."

Draco's eyes widened comically at that and he looked almost as if he was about to faint.

Beth was chuckling softly as they left the emporium with Harry's new snowy owl who had her head tucked under one wing, sleeping. Hagrid had seemed a bit put out to see Harry talking to Draco, bit of bad blood apparently between Draco's dad and Hagrid, which led to Hagrid explaining that he had giant blood (leading to Beth half exclaim, half beg that Hagrid please tell her that his mother was the GIANT and not the HUMAN much to Harry's confusion) but he'd nodded when he found out that Harry was trying to change Draco's mind about muggleborns with the genetic theory he'd presented to the other boy.

"Be good ta take some o' the wind outta his sails!" Hagrid said with a grin.

Hagrid had been intending to take him back right away but a shop with magical jewelry caught Harry's eyes and he darted inside, Beth and Hagrid both forced to follow.

"Harry what in the world are you coming in here for?" Beth asked with a frown.

"THIS!" Harry said with a awed voice. He was pointing to a necklace. A single small lily between five equally small petunias. As they watched the flowers would slowly bloom and then fold back to buds. When the flowers were closed the closed petals of the petunias were gold and the lily was silver. When they were open in full bloom the petunias petals were amethysts and the lilys petals were mother of pearl. The shop owner came over and showed them that if they pressed a small mark on the back of the necklace that it would freeze the flowers mid bloom.

"How much miss?" He asked softly.

"50 galleons, but well worth it. There are some protection charms on it, they will stop minor hexes, jinxes and curses. None of the big ones will be stopped mind you, but it'll protect from most child pranks. Great for a gift for your mother or female relation."

"I'll take it." Harry said with a grin, handing over the requested galleons.

He walked out of the shop still smiling hoping that his aunt would love the gift, even if it was magical it was jewelry and it served a very useful purpose if one of his spells went awry while he practiced. They headed out of the Alley and back through the Leaky Cauldron, thankfully Hagrid guided him straight through the eager throng of patrons and back out to the main street with the very real excuse of having to get him back home. Hagrid handed him a ticket and offered to call the Knight Bus but Harry declined, he had just enough in pounds to get them home via taxi and Hagrid agreed while it wasn't that fast it might do them all some good to have some slower travel. They pulled up in front of Number Four Privet drive and they piled out of the taxi, Harry handing over the funds and thanking the driver. Hagrid followed Harry inside and took out a tin can. A few moments for a tearful, on Hagrids part, fair well, Hagrid said 'Whatchamacallit' and disappeared with a loud 'pop'. Petunia sighed a bit.

"At least he waited until he was inside. I can't imagine having to explain a giant of a man just disappearing from my front porch." she turned to Harry with a frown. "Where are your things?"

"Right here!" Harry grinned, setting his new owls cage down on the table and took out his shrunken trunk. Dudley moved over and poked the small trunk. Petunia blinked at it as well in confusion.

"Let me show you." He moved over to the couch and set the trunk in the center of one cushions. He pushed Dudley back quickly when he tried to edge closer.

"No Dudders, it's going to expand rapidly and I don't want you getting hurt." Harry said in explanation.

Dudley nodded at that and both he and Petunia stood back warily as Harry turned the small crest on the trunk. The trunk expanded with a sudden 'whoosh' of noise and Dudley let out a shout and fell back while his Aunt gasped in surprise. Harry grinned at them and signalled them closer as he opened the trunk lid to show off his clothes and then closed the lid and opened it the other way to show off his school supplies. Petunia blinked in surprise and started murmuring about such a way to save space and Dudley started rifling through his school supplies to 'ooh' and 'aah' at the different items. While Dudley was distracted he moved over to his aunt and cleared his throat to get her attention. When she turned to him however he froze in momentary fear and it took a shove from Beth to get him to move again.

"Ah, well, I got something for you Aunt Petunia." he said shuffling his feet a bit. "It um...I thought you'd like it. It's got some protections on it too...just some small ones."

He held out his hand and revealed the necklace in its budded state, he turned it over carefully and pointed to a small symbol. "If you press here for five seconds, it'll bloom."

Petunia took the necklace from him carefully, looking it over. She pointed to the small symbol to confirm and then pressed one finger to it and held it there for the required five second count. She turned it back over to watch it curiously. Dudley had wandered over as well and they all watched together as the small buds bloomed into jeweled flowers. Petunias face went blank for a moment as she realized what kind of flowers were blooming and then her eyes teared up with a mixture of sorrow and wonder. She sat down and held the necklace out to Harry, pulling her hair up from her neck so he could clasp it around her neck. He did so and then she stood and moved over to the mirror, the boys followed her. The necklace sat at the hollow of her throat and looked quite nice against her pale skin. She swiped at her eyes and gave Harry a small one armed hug.

"Thank you Harry, this is lovely." she whispered.

"Hey cos," Dudley spoke up with a grin. "You're helpin' me find a gift next mother's day you hear me?"

They all shared a laugh at that, as Dudley's gifts normally were of the food variety. Harry nodded his head in agreement and decided that the day had gone well. Very well indeed.

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review pls!


	7. Chapter 7

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

As it is unknown if a secret keep can be forced to reveal a location under fidelus via Imperius or Vertiaserum, I will be rolling with the possibility that it could happen. Also I have not been able to find a middle name for Sirius so I'm going with Orion.

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Chapter 7: Court rooms and Mirrors

Harry's summer was going quite well in his opinion. He'd named his owl Hedwig after a name he'd found in his book Hogwarts: A History. He'd gone through his first year potions book at least three times by now, two of those times with his Aunt, going over the similarities with cooking. She'd been intrigued with the potions books but refused to look over any of the others as there were no 'practical applications', in her opinion, to the other books. 'Nonsensical wand waving' as she refered to it. Cooking she understood, Chemistry to a point as well, and Potions seemed similar enough to both of those fields to let it go when Harry wanted to talk about potions. She worried though after seeing that if one put in the wrong ingredient or stirred in the wrong direction at the wrong time that a potion could become explosive or could let loose a deadly steam/mist and repeatedly told him to be mindful of the instructions and even ran him through a few 'mock' brewing sessions to make sure he'd gotten at least some of the basic potions memorized.

Then things got a bit nerve wrecking for him. Hagrid had kept his word and relayed the information concerning his Godfather to Lemon-Drop Man, Professor Dumbledore, who was appropriately appalled at the realization that Sirius was not the secret keeper for the Potter family as everyone had assumed. Even worse, from what he told them during his visit to Privet Drive, Sirius Black had never even been given a trial and had just been carted off to the wizarding worlds prison, Azkaban. To say that he and Beth had been upset had been putting it mildly, Harry'd had another burst of accidental magic which resulted in his Dalek figurine poping from Harrys room to the den, 'blowing up' to full size and shouting 'Exterminate!' for a few moments before Professor Dumbledore was able to cast a Finite Incantetem on the figurine, returning it to its proper size and inactive state.

Harry'd ended up grounded with no telly for the day because of the outburst, which he didn't mind all that much. What did upset him was that he would have to appear in front of the Wizengamot as it was his Imaginary that was the star witness for Sirius Blacks official trial and that meant reporters. Harry had not really enjoyed the attention he'd gotten while in the Leaky Cauldron, people swarming around him adoringly for something he didn't even remember doing and had cost him his parents, and that was only a mildly crowed pub. A swarm of reporters? That would be a waking nightmare.

Professor Dumbledore did his best to assure Harry that he would be escorting him personally to the appointed court room, Chamber One. Harry didn't have to speak with the reporters if he didn't want to. The current Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, would be meeting with them after the trial to discuss what information they would be sharing after the courts findings on the charges. Professor Dumbledore was honest when he said it had been difficult to convince Fudge to hold a public trial, but had been able to do so when he pointed out that the injustice had occurred before he took office in 1990 and thus it was not his fault for having trusted the previous Ministers judgements, and that he was righting a 'terrible wrong' by sending a man to jail without a trial. The trail itself was set for August 20th at ten in the morning.

Aunt Petunia actually graciously offered to go with Harry as support if he desired her too though she looked like she'd swallowed a lemon as she offered. Harry thanked her for the offer but declined as he knew she was still uncomfortable being around magic in general due to her bad memories. He was grateful that she was able to handle wearing the necklace he'd given her and knew he and Dudley, who was quite excited to learn what he could about magic even though he would never be able to cast a spell, would have to take small steps with her when it came to magic.

August 20th arrived sooner then Harry expected. Aunt Petunia got him up early to get him ready for the trial. She helped him into his formal dress robes with the white silk button down shirt, sleek black silk pants and the billowing blue-black silk robes themselves. When he'd questioned her on why he should where his most expensive robes she'd bopped him lightly on the head.

"Harry James Potter!" she'd said in an annoyed tone. "It is your Imaginary that will be speaking to the court as the witness, YOU will be there as a representative for your family and need to look like a well raised young man, not a hooligan in dirty robes, wrinkled shirt and scuffed jeans! You need to put forth a proper, Respectable Image."

Harry hadn't really understood why he needed to put forth a 'proper Respectable Image' as she'd put it but hadn't wanted to fight with her over it so he let it alone. Professor Dumbledore arrived at nine-thirty and they Flooed to the Minstry. Harry had been right to worry about a massive crowd. He could see a swarm of reporters all standing around and near the entrance to the court room area. Thankfully there was a standard security barrier in place to prevent any unwanted individuals from passing further in and the Professor was able to sheppard him and Beth safely through the throng of reporters with a type of spell that kept them back a few paces. Their questions were too jumbled together as it was as they were all shouting at the same time so Harry doubted he would have been able to pick out a single question to answer anyway.

They entered the court room to find it mostly empty save for a giant mirror with things that looked like big speakers at the top corners, a few choice reporters, who kept their distance after a warning look from Dumbledore and a worn, tired looking man in a faded looking brown robe. His face was kind with many laugh lines, his eyes were a darker green then Harry's and his hair was a light brown flecked with grey highlights. He'd been sitting slumped in his seat and at the sight of Harry he seemed to freeze and then perk up with a level of joy Harry was unaccustomed to.

"Harry? Is that really you?" Said the man as he stood and moved over to them. "My word you look just like James did when he was your age!"

He bent to one knee in front of Harry and held out his hand. Harry blinked a moment and then looked up to Beth.

"Dear Harry, this is one of your parents close friends. I only ever heard him called Moony however." she said.

Harry turned back to 'Moony' and shook his hand. He grinned glad to meet another friend of his parents. Perhaps he would hear more stories about his mum and dad.

"Beth says you're 'Moony'" Harry said tentatively which caused the man to laugh.

"I am indeed. My actual name is Remus Lupin, but to family and you ARE family Harry, I'm Moony." He let Harry's hand go and looked to where Harry had. "You said her name was Beth?" Harry nodded. "Well Beth I have to say thank you. All this time I believed, as others did, that Padfoot was guilty."

"So Sirius' nickname is Padfoot." Harry said, wanting to clarify. Both Moony and Beth nodded in response to the statement.

Suddenly there was a bang as the doors opened abruptly and Harry and the others spun around to see who entered the courtroom. The man entering was a tall, thin man with pale skin and a large, hooked nose. He had shoulder-length, greasy black hair which framed his face, and cold, black eyes. Harry took a moment to look closer at his eyes and found that they were a deep dark brown that gave the appearance of being black at first glance. He wore black, flowing robes which billowed behind him. Harry was reminded of Batman at first with the way his robes moved and grinned a bit at the thought. The man carried a small bag that was reminiscent of an old leather doctors bag. He moved over to them and nodded once at Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, Severus, I'm glad you could join us. We will need a vial of Vertiserum during the trial."

"Indeed." Harry could hear a faint sneer in the mans voice. "Heaven forbid the Ministry actually does something right for a change without having someone hold their hand."

Harry giggled softly at that and drew the mans, Severus', attention. His eyes widened for a moment and emotion caught on his face that Harry couldn't quite place and this his expression went blank. Harry gulped slightly and walked over to him carefully as if approaching one of Aunt Marge's dogs.

"Um...hello sir. I'm Harry Potter, pleased to meet you?" Harry held out his hand carefully. It took a few cold moments before Severus took his hand and shook it.

"Professor Severus Snape." He said coolly.

"Severus teaches Potions at Hogwarts, Harry." Dumbledore said with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Snape? Aunt Petunia mentioned that mom grew up knowing a Snape, I thought that was your first name." Harry blinked and then grinned up at the tall, formidable man. "I'm really happy meeting people who knew mum and dad, it really is good to meet you Professor."

"Indeed." Proferssor Snape said, his voice not quite as cold as before.

There was another bang from one of the side doors and several older wizards moved into the room and to the raised tables. Dumbledore shuffled Harry and Prof. Snape over to one of the lower tables and they all sat down. Moony moved back to his seat in the audience. Another door opened and two guards were leading in a very bedraggled man. He had a sunken face and shadowed eyes and waxy white skin. His hair was a matty black and his eyes a cloudy unfocused grey. He froze at the sight of Harry and tears immediately sprung to his eyes. Even as the guards forced him to sit at the other table he never stopped looking at Harry. Harry tried to give him a small smile, knowing that this was his godfather. The mans eyes widened and then he looked away, sobbing almost uncontrollably. Harry looked to the Professor's beside him.

"Whats wrong with him?" He asked with concern.

"When the Auror's found him, he had been yelling that it was 'all his fault.'" Professor Snape said in a bored tone.

There was a bang from a gavel and everyones attention was brought to the front. The man in the center, Harry assumed it would was Minister Fudge, stood and cleared his throat. Harry noticed a smallish man with glasses to the side with a quill and parchment, the quill started writing on its own as the Minister began to speak.

"The court is here today for the official trial of one Sirius Orion Black. The charges levied are that one Sirius Black was the Secret Keeper of the Potter Family and that he betrayed the Potter Family to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named which resulted in their deaths, murder of Peter Pettigrew and murder of twelve muggle civilians." There was eager murmuring from the reporters and he banged the gavel again to quiet them. "How does the defendant plead?"

Dumbledore stood and moved to stand behind Sirius. "Not Guilty."

"Very well, it is the courts understanding that we have a witness that will confirm that Sirius Black was in fact NOT the Secret Keeper of the Potter family?"

"Yes, the Imaginary of one Harry Potter was witness to the casting of the Fidelus Charm." Dumbledore said in an even tone.

The reporters behind them started talking in eager tones to each other forcing the Minister to once again bang the gavel to try to quiet them. Harry glanced back, really there was only about ten reporters but they could get so loud. Beth tapped his shoulder and brought his attention back to the front.

"If Mr. Potter could please step in front of the Mirror of Bonds?" Harry stood up nervously and moved toward the mirror. "The court acknowledges that the Mirror of Bonds, created by one Albus Dumbledore and one Nicholas Flamel, is able to both show a Witch or Wizards Imaginary and also allow communication with said Imaginary while they are in front of the Mirror."

Beth moved just behind Harry, hand gently resting on his shoulder as they walked in front of the mirror. At first the Mirror showed a misty shape behind him but as he and the others watched the shape solidified into Beth's image. He looked around and grinned when he saw that the others could indeed see her as well.

"Madam, if you would state your name and occupation for the court records?"

"Bethany Lithah." Harry blinked, a little weirded out by hearing Beth's voice both from behind him and issuing from the speakers at the top of the mirror. "I am the Imaginary of one Harry James Potter."

"Thank you ma'am. If you would tell us what you had witnessed?"

"Of course, upon the casting of the Fidelus Charm James and Lily Potter had chosen Peter Pettigrew as their Secret Keeper."

"Why then did everyone believe that the Keeper was Sirius Black?"

"Black was to act as bait. He would be known to be the Keeper when he was not, thus drawing the attention of Voldemort," Everyone flinched except for Harry, Dumbledore and Snape causing Beth to roll her eyes. "away from the true Keeper, Pettigrew."

"Were you present at the attack on October 31st?"

"No, I had put off my report to my superiors long enough by that time. That dear Harry and his family were supposedly safe under the Charm meant that I would no longer be able to put that report off."

"Thank you Ma'am." The Minister turned to the other judges. "All those in favor of finding Sirius Black innocent of providing the Potter Families location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

All of the judges hands rose as one. Minister Fudge nodded with a small smile to Harry and banged the gavel once. The reporters once again broke into a flurry of activity and conversation and the Minister gave them a few moments to quiet themselves. Harry looked over to Moony who was smiling faintly and then to Sirius who was openly sobbing and looking at Harry and Beth with awe.

"Order please!" Minister Fudge shouted after a moment. "We are left with the charges of Murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles. As we wish to fully ascertain the events of that followed the deaths of Lily and James Potter we will request the administration of Veritaserum to the accused. In his current state it is believed the individual will be unable to resist the effects of the serum. Is this acceptable?"

"It is Minister." Dumbledore said and the other judges all nodded as were taking in Sirius' obviously malnourished state. "I've taken the liberty to call in Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master, for administration of Veritaserum."

"Very well, proceed."

Snape stood and moved over to Sirius with a stern look on his face. He waved his wand over the crying man and then looked to the judges.

"I will be administering a Calming Draught and then only enough veritaserum to last for up to a half hour. With the malnourished state of the accused anything more will poision him."

"As you say, Professor Snape. Please proceed." the Minister said.

Professor Snape carefully handed and helped Sirius in drinking what Harry assumed was the Calming Draught. Sirius took a few deep breaths and his shudders and tears finally stopped. He looked at the Professor with an emotion Harry couldn't place. Harry caught a murmured 'Thanks Snivy' and had to bite back a giggle at the Professors glare and murmured 'I really SHOULD poison you.' He held up a small vial of what looked like water for the court to view before he opened it and took out an eye dropper. Sirius stuck out his tongue with the ghost of a grin on his lips and the Professor administered two drops. Sirius' face took on a dreamy look.

"Please state your name for the court records."

"Sirius Orion Black." Sirius said.

"Please tell the court what happened on October 31st up to your arrest."

"I'd gone to visit Peter, check up on him and make sure he was doing ok. He'd just lost his girl, Mary. I didn't find him at home and the house looked ok so I figured he was visiting Lily and James. I went to their place..."

"You'd been told the location?" The Minister interrupted.

"Yeah, I was there to witness the casting of the charm too."

"Very well, continue."

"When I got to Godric's Hollow the house had already been attacked. I lost it for a moment thinking everyone was dead. I heard Harry crying and realized he was alive. I cast a spell to stabilize the building and rushed inside to find him upstairs on the ground near Lily's body. James was near the entrance. I searched for Peter too but couldn't find him anywhere. I thought he might have been caught and forced to provide the location. Hagrid showed up and I gave Harry to him. All I could think about was finding Peter and rescue him if he was alive. I was shocked when I saw him on the street in London, ran toward him shouting his name. He turned at me, yelled that it was my fault and blew himself up."

The courtroom burst into noise at the last and Harry's eyes widened with surprise. Even with Minister Fudge calling for order everyone kept talking and trying to figure out why Peter would do such a thing and if Sirius was indeed telling the truth. Harry felt Beth cover his ears and a sudden roar filled the room forcing everyone to be quiet. Harry still jumped despite himself and looked to Beth who was just closing her mouth. He'd never heard her make such a noise before and was rather surprised by it.

"Now that you all are quiet," She started, annoyance in her voice. "Are there any spells that will force a person to do something against their will?"

"There is the Imperius curse, it does take away ones free will if one is not strong enough to fight it." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "May I ask what you are thinking Lady Bethany?"

"Just Beth, and what I am thinking is that it sounds as if Peter was caught, forced to give the information and then possibly forced to kill himself if anyone he knew found him. If he had lost someone dear to him then he would have been highly susceptible to the curse, yes?"

"Indeed." Dumbledore said sadly. "It could very well have happened as you suppose."

"Well..." Minister Fudge said in a slightly flustered voice. "With this new information come to light we would want to confirm that there was no explosive spell cast with Mr. Blacks wand.

"It's broken." Sirius piped up.

"Pardon? What do you mean broken?" Fudge said blinking rapidly in surprise.

"The Aurors took me directly to Barty Crouch Senior. He took my wand, broke it and ordered me to Azkaban." Sirius said in the same dreamy tone, though there was the slightest bit of anger starting to appear on his face.

Again the reporters and this time the judges all burst into noise at the same time. Harry sighed and looked up at Beth.

"Are adults always like this?" he asked quietly.

"They can be." she responded with a faint grin.

Finally order was restored and the Minister called for a vote from the judges. It took several minutes of discussion but a majority of those present voted for 'Not Guilty'. Harry cheered in response which caused everyone else to give a chuckle and clap their hands together. Next Professor Dumbledore called for a compensation request to make up for the time Sirius had been in jail but Harry tuned that out and rushed over to Sirius who was being freed from the magical maniacals, and having some cleaning spells cast on him. Harry waited for a few moments bouncing on his toes while the guards cleaned Sirius up and then jumped forward to give the man a hug. Sirius returned the hug fiercely tears coming to his eyes again despite the calming draught that was still in his system.

"Thank you Harry. Thank you." he said softly.

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Long chapter today just couldn't find a spot to separate things out! Hope you enjoyed the trial!

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

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Chapter 8: Barriers, Trains and Red-heads.

After the trial Harry had been able to give Professor Snape a polite goodbye and had gotten a stiff response from the older man. He could see how his Aunt would call him a git if he was always so stiff and collected but in a way he felt that it suited him. He wondered as well if he was as hard on students with potions as his aunt was with cooking. Professor Dumbledore led both Harry and Sirius out of the ministry and past the throng of eager reporters. He then took them both to their respective homes, Harry's first. Sirius thanked Harry again and promised he would owl him when he could, but Dumbledore was quite firm that it might be some time as Sirius needed to recover from his time in Azkaban, which meant a trip to the Wizarding hospital, St. Mungo's. Sirius had rolled his eyes and gave a strained smile trying to say that he would be fine on his own but Dumbledore merely gave him a firm look and he capitulated. Harry wished him well and then they 'popped' off.

September 1st came quickly enough and Harry made sure he had everything packed, more like he unpacked and then repacked everything about five times the night before his Aunt ordered him to shrink the trunk and then took it away from him and ordered him to bed. As his Aunt drove them to Kings Cross he looked over the ticket Hagrid had handed to him.

"Aunt Petunia? The ticket reads Platform Nine and Three- Quarters..." his voice trailed off in confusion.

"Yes, Lily's read the same and no I don't know what it means by that. I stayed out in the car each time we dropped her off."

Petunia responded. "We'll want to wait between platforms Nine and Ten and watch for any...others."

Harry nodded a bit at that and let it go. When they got to Kings Cross his aunt handed him back his shrunked trunk and he grabbed Hedwig's cage. Dudley followed behind him and they chatted about the spells Harry would be learning as a first year. Surprisingly Dudley didn't seem to be the slightest bit upset that he would never be able to cast a spell. He was mostly interested in the theory behind the spells and the history of the magical world then actual casting. He also made Harry promise to find out if they had any classes dedicated to learning about 'muggles' as he wanted to know what wizards thought of the non-magical world.

As they moved to the spot between Platforms Nine and Ten they started to keep an eye out for anyone talking about magic so they could figure out how to get to the train. Beth wandered about, unseen as she was, and was better able to listen in to random conversations. She finally rushed back to Harry's side with a grin. "Magicals incoming." she said and he relayed that to his aunt and cousin.

The first thing that clued him in to which group Beth had been speaking of was a kindly womans voice saying '...packed with muggles, of course...' he spun to look in the direction of the group and smiled at the sight. The speaker was a plump woman talking to four boys, two of which were identical twins, and had a young girl clinging to her free hand. They all had flaming red hair and freckles, each boy was pushing a trolley with trunks similar to Harry's on, and most telling of all, they had a owl. Harry and the others moved closer to over hear the group of freckled red-heads.

"Now then, what's the platform number?" said the mother.

"Nine and Three-Quarters!" piped the small girl holding her hand. "Mom, can't I go...?"

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now quiet. All right, Percy, you first."

Harry and the others watched eagerly as what looked to be the oldest boy pushed his trolley forward and aimed at the dividing barrier between the two platforms. He leaned forward, watching closely and hoping not to miss anything as the boy suddenly rushed forward but a think crowd of tourists swarmed in front of his view and blocked off what happened. When the crowd cleared the boy was gone.

"Hmm, I felt a pulse of magic just then." Beth said, frowning a bit.

"Fred, you next." the plump woman said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!" said one of the twins as he pushed his trolley forward. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred." said the twin with a laugh as he rushed forward toward the barrier and then was gone. He heard his aunt mutter a 'Well I never!' at the boys antics. His twin followed closely behind with a whoop. He too disappeared right before he hit the barrier. Harry shared a glance with his family before they walked over to the remaining three red-heads. His aunt cleared her throat.

"Pardon me but..." Petunias voice trailed off trying to figure out how to put the question. The redheaded woman smiled.

"First time at Hogwarts? My Ron's first year, too. Both boys or just one?" she asked and Petunia nodded putting her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Just my nephew here." Petunia responded.

"Um...so how do...the thing is..."Harry stuttered out a bit looking between the red-heads and the barrier.

"How do you get to the platform?" the woman asked kindly.

He nodded quickly in response.

"Not to worry deary. All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared that you'll crash into it. It's best do it at a bit of run if you're nervous. You can go now, before Ron does."

Harry nodded a bit and looked to his Aunt and his cousin. His aunt was frowning at the barrier and looked distinctly uncomfortable. He turned and gave her a hug making her look down at him.

"I'll go on, you guys can head home ok?" Harry said softly.

Relief flashed across his aunts face and she returned his hug, she looked to the red-headed woman ans there was a moment of tense silence before the red-headed woman smiled and nodded. Petunia smiled back and led Dudley off. Harry waved to them both and looked back to the barrier and took a deep breath. The barrier did look quite solid. He spared a glance both to Beth and to the red-headed mother who both has reassuring smiles. He grinned back and then started toward the barrier at a jog, then sped up to a run. He slammed his eyes shut right before he hit the barrier fully expecting to hit the wall...but he didn't. A sharp jerk to his shirt collar caused him to open his eyes and come to a stop. He looked up and saw that Beth had grabbed him and was grinning down at him. He stuck out his tongue and looked behind him making sure that the other three red-heads made it okay, which they did.

He nodded to himself and then took a moment to look around. There was a sign above a bright red steam engine reading Hogwarts Express, Eleven o'clock. He heard a boy call out that he'd lost his toad and a woman who looked to be his grandmother sighed at his exclamation. He grinned and started for one of the cars only to stop at a shout from a familiar voice.

"Hey there! Where's your trunk?"

Harry turned and found himself face to face with the twins Fred and George. He grinned to the two as he shuffled Hedwig's cage and pulled out the book sized trunk.

"Right here. Hagrid said it was a good deal. Should I unshrink it?"

The twins eyes widened as they looked over the trunk and then they looked Harry over.

"Well it would be a good idea..." said one.

"To unshrink it right quick..." said the other.

"That's a really expensive type of trunk..."

"And you wouldn't want it getting stolen..."

"With it that size..."

"Be easy for someone to nab."

Harry's head flicked back and forth as each one spoke and he nodded a bit realising the truth in there words, he went to grab the crest and one of the twins caught his arm.

"Not out in the open..."

"Each trunk can have a different trigger..."

"Don't want others to see..."

Harry nodded slightly and had to bit back a small laugh at Beth's muttered 'THIS is why I don't like twins.' He and the twins moved into the train and Harry was able to locate an empty compartment. The twins grinned at him and turned their backs guarding the door for him. He set the trunk down on the seats and turned the crest so it expanded back to normal size. He started to try to lift it up to place in the upper compartment and grunted with the effort. The next he knew the weight was gone as both twins grabbed the trunk and hefted it into place for him.

"There we go firstie..."

"All settled in!"

Harry grinned and ran his fingers through his hair. He started to open his mouth to thank them and the two boys let out a soft gasp.

"Blimey, are you...?"

"He is. Aren't you?"

"What?" Harry asked with a blink looking between the two.

"Harry Potter?" both twins chorused.

"Oh, him! I mean yes, I am."

The boys gawked at him for a few moments before he heard their mothers voice calling for them. They looked to each other and then spared a last glance to Harry before rushing outside. Harry sat down by the window and Beth across from him so they could both watch from the window. The family of red-heads had gathered together and the mother had just taken out a cloth to wipe at the nose of the youngest boy.

"Mom.. geroff!" after a moment he managed to wiggle free and Harry grinned at the sight.

He listened as the twins playfully teased their younger brother, found out that the older brother was a prefect( and that he had apparently been bragging about that all summer), Harry's eyes widened as he realized the twins loved pranks and Beth face-palmed as their mother inadvertently gave them the idea to blow up a toilet. 'Never given pranksters an idea, they can come up with their own without help' Beth had murmured to Harry. Finally the twins shared a look and then caught their moms attention.

"Hey, mom? Guess who we met on the train!" one said with a grin.

"You know that dark-haired boy you helped?"

"You know who he is?"

"Who?" The mother smiled indulgently.

"Harry Potter!" the twins chorused.

The little girl squeaked and started to beg to be let on the train. a firm admonishment from her mother quieted her.

"I did know that actually. His photo was in the newspaper recently concerning that mess with poor Sirius."

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"The boy was doing his best to avoid the press. I imagine he doesn't like to be reminded about his fame. Remember he lost his parents that night."

"Do you think he remembers what You-know-who-looks like?"

"Fred! Don't you dare ask that poor boy that question!" their mothers face grew very stern. "You respect his privacy do you hear me? He doesn't need to be reminded about the deaths of his parents like that!"

Harry flinched a bit and then relaxed as Beth laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. He watched at the family said their goodbyes and loaded up onto the train. As the train began to pull away from the station he watched with amusement as the little sister chased after the train, waving her hands in fair well to her brothers.

"They seem like a nice family." Harry said softly.

"They do indeed." Beth responded.

Harry found himself highly amused as the youngest red-head boy popped into the compartment and asked if he could sit with him. The twins followed shortly afterward and introduced themselves as Fred and George Weasley and their brother as Ron. They were talking excitedly about one of the other students, a Lee Jordan, trying to sneak in a tarantula as his familiar and that they were going to be checking it out. Ron seemed to doubt for a few that Harry was indeed THAT Harry until he showed him his scar, he was apparently quite used to being pranked by the twins.

They talked about Ron's family, almost all wizards except for a second cousin who was a squib and made his life as an accountant. Harry told him about his aunt and his cousin and squashed the myth that he knew 'loads of magic' since he was raised by his muggle relatives. They shared food when the snack cart made its round, Harry bought enough for them both and more since he'd never had wizarding food before. Harry learned about Chocolate Frog cards(he got an Albus Dumbledore) and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans(he got rather lucky with the flavors from what Ron told him), Ron showed off his rat Scabbers who seemed to do nothing but sleep and made Beth frown 'Is that rat sick?'. Harry learned about the Houses and that a lot of dark wizards had come from Slytherin, Harry'd been doubtful that all dark wizards came from that House and Ron clarified that some of the most well known dark wizards came from that house and admitted that there might have been 'bad eggs' from other houses but that it was probably rare and not well known.

A boy had knocked on their compartment door asking about a toad and Harry realised this was probably the same boy from before. Both boys apologized and said they hadn't seen it and he wandered off dejectedly. The really lively part of the train ride started when Draco showed up with two larger boys. Ron immediately looked to be on the defensive as the two larger boys took up 'guard' positions and then Draco shoved his way inside to sit across from Harry, next to Ron. Sadly, Beth was already sitting there and Harry felt a sudden pull on his 'core' and dove to the other side of the seat just as Draco was blasted forward and into the spot where Harry had been a moment before.

Both Harry and Ron bit back giggles as Draco struggled to sit up right, frantically straightening his robes and his hair before settling into place and glaring at where he was going to sit. He couldn't see Beth but she looking at him with a smug grin.

"I read the paper the other day so I know wha-who that was. You could have warned me Potter." Draco said with a sniff.

"You didn't exactly give me enough time to!" Harry said in defense. Ron looked back and forth between the two then to the seat next to him. Ron's eyes widened as he realized what had just happened and then he looked back to the two boys.

"You know each other?" He asked in a cautious voice, it was obvious that it was not the question he wanted to ask at the moment.

"We met at the Owl Emporium." Harry explained.

Harry was about to explain more when a girl managed to shove past the two larger boys. She had brown bushy hair and rather large front teeth. Harry could just see the boy from before peaking past the 'guards' watching the girl with a look of surprised awe.

"Have you seen a toad?"

"We already told the boy we hadn't seen it." Ron said with a frown as he flicked his wand, which looked rather battered, over Scabbers a few times idly without saying anything, seemingly practicing a particular wand movement. The girl zeroed in on his wand and then plopped herself down next to Harry, squashing him a bit against Draco. All the boys shared a look as she started talking.

"Are you doing magic? Let's see it!"

Ron looked a bit taken aback and cleared his throat.

"Um, this is something the twins taught me. Didn't work last time..." He took a deep breath. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow." Nothing happened.

Draco snorted.

"You said the 'twins' taught you that. Do you mean the Weasley twins?" Ron nodded again looking to be on the defensive. "My father told me they are troublemakers and to watch out for them, He's on the school board. You really believed that was a real spell?"

"I've tried a few spells myself for practice, they seem to be more latin based then anything else." The girl piped up eagerly. "I'll have to keep an eye out for those twins you mentioned! I'm so glad though to be going to Hogwarts. No one in my family is magical at all, I was so surprised by the letter but ever so pleased. I've read that Hogwarts is the absolute best magical school, I've read all my books several times now...OH! I'm terribly sorry, where's my manners? My name is Hermione Granger, and you?" She looked eagerly at the boys.

They all blinked in response and Harry saw Beth raise an eyebrow.

"Draco Malfoy..."

"Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter."

"Are you really? I've read all about you!" Harry flushed at that and then paled, wait what did she mean read all about me? he thought. "You're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and even The Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century!"

"I am?" Harry squeaked. Beth tilted her head a bit and Harry heard her mutter something about 'royalties'.

"Goodness! You didn't know?" She said. "I'd have found out everything I could if it was me! Do you know what House you'll be in?" she looked at the boys and grinned. "I'm hoping for Gryffindor myself, that was Professor Dumbledore's House. Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad either, I do love learning new things. Anyway I'd best be off we still need to find Neville's toad. Good to meet you!"

As she stood Draco suddenly pointed at her while looking at Harry.

"Her!"

Hermione stopped and looked between Harry and Draco in

confusion. Even Ron looked confused.

"Her?" Harry said

"Yes! No way she has a Magical background!"

"What are you on about?" Hermione asked.

Harry and Draco both explained their bet and their reasoning behind it. Ron and Hermione both looked intrigued at what they were trying to do.

"Well, my mother keeps an extensive family tree at home, I think it goes back at least forty generations! This is a great idea both of you!" She grinned in approval at both Harry and Draco causing them both to blush. "I'll mail...I mean OWL my mother for a copy of the family tree as soon as we get to Hogwarts and we can look over it. It even has pictures, the non-moving kind I mean. Anyway, let's go Neville."

She left in a flurry of robes and hair and left all of the boys a little bit confused at her rapid fire speech. Beth was laughing softly as the conductor announced that they would be arriving shortly and Draco and his guards ran back to their own compartment to get dressed and left Harry and Ron to their own devices.

"Right clever idea that, mate. His families big on pure blood status, if you can prove your theory it'll put a bee in a lot of people's bonnet's."

"That's the idea." Harry responded with a grin.

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pls review!


	9. Chapter 9

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

Holy cow over 1500 views at this point! Yay!

:bounces around like crazy until Prof. Snape appears, forcibly grabs me and shoves a calming draught down my throat:

Ahem, anyway thank you all and I'm glad you are interested in my story. when you see the * that is quoted directly from the book Please continue to enjoy!

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Chapter 9: Boats, Ghosts and a Singing Hat!

Once dressed in their school robes Harry and Ron looked out the window to try to catch a glimpse of Hogwarts. They couldn't see much as it was getting dark and before they could make out more then the distant dark shadow of the castle the conductors voice echoed across the train again.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Harry blinked at that and frowned as he looked over to his trunk which just had the initials of his first and last name on them and then he looked to Ron.

"Hey, what happens if someone has the same initials on the trunk?"

"I think they can tell who was sitting in what compartment. I've never heard of someone not having their trunk show up in their room."

Harry nodded a bit at that and the boys shared a nervous smile. Harry noticed that Ron was extremely pale so his freckles stood out in stark relief, he wondered if he was just as pale. They spilt up the snacks Harry'd bought evenly between the two and quickly pocketed them. The train came to a slow halt and the children all piled out. Harry shivered a bit and pulled his robe tighter around his form and stuck close to Ron. He noticed the light of a lantern above the heads of the other students and then grinned as he heard a familiar voice call out.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Alright there, Harry?"

Harry smiled and waved to Hagrid and joined the rest of the first years congregating around Hagrid.

"C'mon, follow me-Any more firs' years?" Hagrid called and a few more first years parted after a momentary fare well to what was obviously their older siblings. "Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!"

Harry and the other first years followed after Hagrid as he led him down a rather steep and narrow path. Several times Harry had to catch Ron's arm to keep him from following and Ron returned the favor a few times as well. It was dark enough on either side of the path that Harry thought they were going through a rather dense forest. Nobody really spoke much, nervous as they all were and Neville, the boy who kept loosing his toad kept sniffling softly.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called to the group in a booming voice. " jus' round this bend here."

As they turned the bend the children all froze and as one let out a large 'Ooooooh!'. The narrow path opened onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched at the other side atop a high cliff was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. One could see the glass windows sparkling and the castle looked amazing against the starry night sky. Harry glanced down at the lake and noticed a small fleet of small boats. Hagrid pointed down at them.

"No more'n four to a boat!"

Harry and Ron grinned at each other and rushed down to the boats, they piled into one and Hermione and Neville joined them in their boat. Neville still looked upset and was looking around the edge of the lake with worry in his eyes. Before Harry could ask Hagrid again called out.

"Everyone in?" Harry noticed Hagrid was in his own boat. "Alright then...forward!"

The little fleet of boats all pushed forward on their own and started for the castle. Harry glanced over the edge of the bost at the water and noticed that other then the ripples caused by the boats the water seemed smooth as glass. Everyone watched in silent awe as they neared the cliff the castle stood on and the castle's details became clearer.

"Heads down!" Hagrid called, and ducked himself as the boats carried them through a wall of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. The boats carried them through a dark cavernous tunnel that led to an underground harbor. The boats each came to an even halt, lining themselves next to the docks. Harry and the others clambered out of the boats and moved after Hagrid. He led them along yet another passage, the only light coming from Hagrid's lantern. They came out of the cavern onto the smooth damp grass right near the base of the castle and Hagrid led them up a flight of stone steps and Harry and the others were crowded in front of a large oak door.

"Everyone here?" Hagrid called out and got tentative 'yes' response from the kids. He nodded and then knocked three times on the door.

The door swung open at once and Harry had to stand on his tip toes to see over the front line of first years. A tall dark-haired woman in emerald-green robes stood in the doorway. She had a very stern face and Harry's first instinct was that this was not a woman to cross. A thought suddenly struck Harry and he looked around frantically for Beth, he relaxed after a moment when he saw her wave to him from right of the group of first years, she was doing her best to avoid the tight group of children. Harry grinned at her and then jumped at Neville's sudden shout of 'TREVOR!'. He turned back around in time to see Neville bent over in front of the woman, his hands held close to his chest, hidden by his robes and cloak. Harry was curious what type of toad the boy had, obviously not a poisoness one, but still some toads could look down right ODD in Harry's opinion. The woman frowned at him and Neville backed back into the crowd sheepishly. Hagrid cleared his throat.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here."

The entrance hall was large enough that Harry wouldn't have been surprised if his aunt's house could fit in the space without touching the walls. Torches lit the entrance hall casting a warm and welcoming light on the stone walls, he couldn't quite make out the stone ceiling and noticed marble stairs that led toward the upper floors. The professor led them to a small chamber connected to the entrance hall. She stopped in front of the other door and Harry could just make out a den of voices on the other side. She then went into a formalized speech that he was sure she gave each year. He grinned a bit and listened.

*"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarted yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.' Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.

"I will return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." *

Harry and those close to him, Ron, Hermione, Neville and a few others started talking quietly amongst themselves trying to figure out what the 'Sorting' would entail. Ron said that his brother Fred told him that there would be a painful test, Ron'd given a strained laugh and tried to reassure both himself and those around him by explaining Fred's prankster nature. Hermione ended up muttering very fast to herself about all the spells she'd studied because of it.

There was a sudden scream from the back and everyone spun around. Harry's eyes widened at the sight of of about twenty ghosts suddenly floating across the room. Harry hadn't really believed Beth when she'd talked about ghosts but he had irrefutable proof of her words now. The ghosts had a pearly-white glow and were partially transparent. He heard them arguing about someone named Peeves and then a ghost that the others called 'Fat Friar' noticed the group of children.

"New students!" he called in a cheerful voice. " About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

Several of group nodded, including Harry. The Fat Friar floated down closer to the group and the bottom portion of his ghostly form brushed against Harry's shoulder. His eyes crossed for a moment as he backed away quickly, his shoulder feeling as if icy fingers had not just brushed his skin but caressed the muscles of his shoulder and the bone beneath. He realised he was shuddering slightly as his eyes uncrossed, Ron and Hermione both looking at him in concern. Hermione eyed him and then the ghost and risked passing her own hand through that lower mist before wrenching her hand back her skin pale and a look of curiosity mixed with disgust on her face. Harry looked over to Beth who smiled to him knowingly, now he knew the sensation that caused her to avoided contact with anyone else, only their magical connection prevented her from feeling that same sensation when she touched him. He gave her a sympathetic look.

"Move along if you would." said a stern voice. Harry spun around and saw that Professor McGonagall had returned. The ghosts all made disappointed sounds, they were obviously enjoying the attention of the first years and Harry had a feeling they did this to every new group.

"Alright, form a line and follow me."

They rapidly formed a line and moved after the professor. They were led into the Great Hall. Harry marveled at the sight of hundreds of candles floating in the air. He wondered at what charm was used to prevent the wax from falling and burning the students below. He marvelled at the ceiling which, according to Hermione, was charmed to match the night sky.  
They were led to line up just in front of the table the staff sat at and in full view of the students sitting at four different tables. Each had a banner over it reflecting which house was sitting at which table. Gryfindor had a lion, Ravenclaw a raven, Hufflepuff a badger and Slytherin a serpent.

Harry shifted a bit looking around nervously, so many people were looking at the first years. He felt Beth's' hand settle onto his shoulder and took a deep breath to calm himself. Professor McGonagall left the room for a moment and then returned with a stool and then set a worn and beaten looking wizards hat on the seat. Harry looked closer and found that the hat was patched in some spots and frayed along the edges, it also looked very dirty. He blinked as he thought of his aunt's reaction to the hat, which would have been to throw it away immediately. What happened next caused him to jump in surprise and a glance at Beth showed that she was struggling not to laugh.

_*"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_  
_But don't judge on what you see,_  
_I'll eat myself if you can find_  
_A smarter hat than me._  
_You can keep your bowlers black,_  
_Your top hats sleek and tall,_  
_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_  
_And I can top them all._  
_There's nothing hidden in your head_  
_The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
_So try me on and I will tell you_  
_Where you ought to be._  
_You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
_Where dwell the brave at heart,_  
_Their daring, nerve and chivalry_  
_Set Gryffindors apart;_  
_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
_Where they are just and loyal,_  
_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_  
_And unafraid of toil;_  
_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
_If you've a steady mind,_  
_Where those of wit and learning,_  
_Will always find their kind;_  
_Or perhaps in Slytherin_  
_You'll make your real friends,_  
_Those cunning folk use any means_  
_To achieve their ends._  
_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
_And don't get in a flap!_  
_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"*_

Harry shared a relieved grin with Ron and then Hermione though he turned back to Ron and nodded with a snicker at his 'HAVE to get that git brother of mine back somehow. He'd said I'd have to fight a TROLL!'. Harry gave it some thought and whispered to him that he'd had an idea for a prank they could play on his brother but he would have to get the supplies to do it. Ron grinned back and Hermione, who'd listened in, gave a soft huff but didn't try to tell them not to.

Harry tuned most of the sorting out as he thought about what house he would be put into. He didn't think of himself as ambitious but he liked a good carefully laid prank which would need cunning and cleverness, what he was thinking to do for Fred involved saran wrap and the loo. He wouldn't call himself witty but did enjoy learning new things. He didn't have any close friends as he didn't share the same interests as the kids in Little Whinging, but felt if he did have friends he would be loyal to them. His aunt had called him foolishly brave a few times when he'd climbed trees and also tried to instill some 'chivalry' in him, trying to teach him to never lie or go back on one's word, protect those weaker then yourself and try to be generous to everyone, she'd told him there was more to old style chivalry then that but that she wanted him to learn those lessons the most (Dudley still had issues with lying and keeping promises). With the last thought he believed he very well might be put into Gryffindor and nodded to himself. He glanced back up as he heard Hermione's name called, curious to see where she ended up.

"Gryffindor!" shouted the hat and Harry clapped and waved to her as she went to the red and gold table.

He spaced out again for a few thinking over his natural traits and wondering how the Sorting Hat would know what to pick. Did it take the traits that were strongest in the person at the time or did it take into account where the new student wanted to be put? He glanced up again at hearing Neville's name and clapped at the hats shout of 'Gryffindor' and laughed with the others when he started for the table with the hat still on his head. The next person he paid attention to was Draco and he shared a slight nod with the boy, he might had been a bit snobby but at least he was willing to test his own boundaries with Harry's bet, Harry wasn't sure if they would become friends or rivals in the end but hoped at the least for a friendly rivalry. Harry wasn't entirely surprised to see Draco go to Slytherin.

Finally it was Harry's turn and he flinched when everyone started talking in hushed voices. He stood frozen for a few moments because of the attention, knowing he'd gone a bit pale and a gentle shove from Beth was the only thing that got him moving. He sat down roughly on the stool, causing it to wobble a bit before it settled. Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head and it fell to cover his eyes and block out the sight and sounds of the Great Hall.

'Hmm.' Harry jumped slightly at the voice in his head. 'Difficult. Very difficult.'

'I'm sorry,' Harry thought, hoping the hat would hear him. 'May I ask what you mean by 'difficult'?'

'Polite too!' Harry heard soft laughter. 'What is difficult Mr. Potter, is that I see plenty of courage, a good mind, talented and not afraid of hard work and a nice thirst to prove yourself. Now where should I put you?'

'If it's all the same to you sir, I think i'd like to be in Gryffindor.'

'Gryffindor is it? You could be great you know, I can see it all here in your head, Slytherin would help you find greatness you know, no doubt about that...No? very well then...'

"GRYFFINDOR!" came the shout and Harry grinned taking off the hat and handing it politly to the Professor before rushing over to the table. The whole table had burst into wild cheers and he saw the twins dancing on the table in joy, 'We got Potter! We got Potter!', Percy ended up shaking his hand as he was welcomed to the table. He finally managed to find a seat and looked around. He waved to both Hagrid and Headmaster Dumbledore and then looked to find Professor Snape. He was sitting near a odd looking teacher wearing a turban who was talking adamantly at him. Harry smile and waved to Professor Snape who merely gave him a slight nod before turning to snap something at the turbaned teacher. Harry felt a sharp pain in his forehead right under his scar and hissed rubbing at it. Beth was at his side in an instant.

"What is wrong dear Harry?" she asked concern in her voice.

"Dunno really, my scar started hurting." He whispered.

"What were you doing?"

"Just nodded hello to the Professors I know up there."

She'd frowned slightly and looked to the Professors' table. Harry looked over as well and nothing really seemed to be out of place. They looked back to each other and Harry shrugged.

"I will keep watch, tell me if it hurts again." she said sternly.

Harry nodded and then looked over to the Sorting again when he heard Rons name called. He heard one of the twins jokingly bet that he'd end up in Hufflepuff and the other responded with a 'with how LAZY he is?!' The hat gave the expected call of 'Gryffindor!' and Ron hurried to the table. Harry shook his head and grinned. Glancing to the side he saw Hermione scribbling away on some notebook paper with a pen and he reached over to tap her shoulder.

"Can I have a few pages and borrow a pen Hermione?" He asked.

She nodded and handed over a few pages and another pen. He caught her muttering about having to learn how to use a quill asap. He grinned a bit. As he thought of how to write his letter the sorting came to an end and Headmaster DUmbledore got to his feet drawing everyone's attention. He greeted the students and left them with a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!. Harry noticed a few Ravenclaws writing down the words and then looked to Percy.

"That was a bit odd. Why are some people writing down the words?"

"Oh he always says something odd before the start of the feast." Percy said in a 'wise' voice. "Several students try to figure out if it's a riddle of some sort. Absolute genius he is. Potatoes, Harry?"

Harry blinked at the question and then noticed the bowl of potatoes in Percy's hand and the spoon he held. He looked around the table and his jaw dropped. Food had appeared out of no where. He grinned and then nodded to Percy.

"I love magic!" Harry said, causing those closest to laugh.

During the dinner meal Harry found out a little about his fellow Gryffindors and his house ghost. His house ghost was named Nearly Headless Nick, named as such as his head was just barely attached to the rest of him by a bit of flesh. It almost put Harry off his food but then Dessert was served and Harry put all thoughts of the house ghost from his mind. He found out that Seamud Finnigan is considered part Muggle, and Neville was raised by his grandmother, even though everyone in his family was worried he was a squib. Harry exclaimed in outrage on Neville's behalf when the boy explained that his Great Uncle Algie had held him out of a window trying to scare him into using magic. Neville defended him, saying he wouldn't have actually dropped Neville if his Great Aunt Enid hadn't distracted him with meringue which had caused his Great Uncles grip to slacken. He'd apparently bounced when he hit the ground which made Harry blink and then laugh.

"You're a Bumble!" Harry'd said with a grin. Which led to him having to explain the adventures of Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer to those of wizarding descent. Neville had grinned at the explanation.

Headmaster Dumbledore concluded the meal with another speech and some warnings. No one is allowed to go into the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the grounds, they shouldn't use magic in the halls, they can try out for Quidditch teams in week two, and they must avoid the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side or they would face a 'very painful death'. He'd asked Percy if the Headmaster was serious and was assured that he must be, though he normally provided reasons why something would be dangerous.

Then they were led to sing the school song, each of them picking their own melody. Beth'd winced slightly but Harry was game and sang the song to the Pokemon series opening song. The twins had chosen a funeral dirge which caused a few students to snicker at the strained smiles of the staff, all but the Headmaster, who was gamely leading them in their song. Once done Percy led Harry and the other first years up to the Gryffindor dorms. They met and were warned about Peeves the Poltergeist. Finally getting into the dorm Harry was about read to drop when he reached his bed but forced himself to stay up to write a letter to his aunt.

_Dear Aunt Petunia and Dudders,_

_Hogwarts is AMAZING! It's this massive castle on right on a cliff ledge and has an amazing view of the lake below. We rode on boats, that moved on their own, and into a hidden cavern at the base of the cliff. It was really amazing. I wish you two could have been here to see it._

_And there are ghosts here, GHOSTS!(This part is for Dudders!) One of them brushed my shoulder and it was like icy fingers not just touching my skin but my muscles and my bones! I know why Beth avoids touching anyone but me as much as she can now. Our house ghost is called Nearly Headless Nick (his actual name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy). He showed us why he got the nickname 'nearly headless', apparently he had really bad luck with the executioners axe._

_We got sorted into our house by a singing/talking witches hat! It sang this really silly song about what each house is about and then BOWED to everyone afterwards. Aunt Petunia you'd never have let the Sorting Hat touch your head! I'm surprised whatever spells were cast on it are still working! The poor thing is patched up in spots, frayed in others and is faded and dirty looking. Well, maybe you would wear it, after giving it a good solid washing!_

_Oh, Aunt Petunia would you mind sending me some saran wrap and a book on normal/muggle history? Maybe something covering the past hundred or so years? A lot of those born to the wizarding world know almost nothing about current events going on and seem to think we're at a technological level equal to about a hundred years ago. I want to show them some of the things we've...well that muggles...have invented, like the mobile phones or microscopes or the telly! I'd ask to borrow Duddleys gameboy but I found out that places of high magically concentration tend like the school can kill muggle electronics._

_I'll tell you more about classes once they start._

_Love,_  
_Harry._

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Yay! another chapter done! Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

Chapter name is a play on Curious George, who always ends up in trouble because of his curiosity. :)

Also I know Hermione doesn't get crookshanks until year three but I'm changing that somewhat. You'll see what I mean.

As a side note; like ghosts Imaginaries can pass through most walls and doors at will, which means they could potentially go through ceilings and floors. Unless an Imaginary has wings though an Imaginary like Beth would be unable to 'float' up to a ceiling like ghosts, and would be less likely to drop through the floor as she could hurt herself depending on the distance of the drop or suffocate if she 'phased' into the ground for too long, she still needs to breathe! :)

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Chapter 10: Curious Harry

The next day started off early for Harry and for Hermione as well to his surprise. Both of them were up and in the common room before the others, wanting to mail off their letters to their family. Beth excused herself to Harry and told him she would be walking the grounds to see if there was any immediate danger and he wished her good luck. Percy was up next along and was a bit shocked to see both first years until they explained what they needed. He'd given a smile and told him that he definitely understood, especially if they were feeling homesick and led them up to the owlery. He also explained how much weight the owls could carry since they were magical creatures which caused Harry to reopen his letter and write out a quick p.s to his aunt to just wrap up the items in a parcel and give them to Hedwig as she could easily handle the weight. Percy then led them both up to the owlery and hung back near the entrance to give them some time. Harry was glad to see Hedwig and greeted her happily. Hermione 'ooh'd' at her and asked if she could pet Hedwig. Harry was glad to let her and as she pet the snowy owl tears came to her eyes.

"Hermione! What's wrong?" Harry asked in concern.

"It's just...Mum didn't want me bringing my kitten. Well he's not exactly a normal kitten, he's half-kneazle he is. He's such a little thing. Mum wants him to be house trained and all before she lets me bring him, she was against me getting a pet at all at first but I managed to convince her otherwise."

"Bad luck that." Harry said with feeling, glad he could visit Hedwig when he had the time. "Um...What's a Kneazle exactly?"

"Oh! A Kneazle is a magical feline creature thats related to, and similar in appearance to, a cat." She started, excited at sharing her knowledge. They can have spotted, speckled or flecked fur. They've got really large ears, and it looks quite silly when they're kittens, and a poofy tail, you know how the tip of a lions tail is all poofy?" Harry nodded.

"A kneazles tail is like that. They can breed with a regular cat, and even the half-Kneazles have a very high level of intelligence and have an uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people. They can also safely guide their owner home if their owner gets lost." Harry's head was starting to spin with the information she was flinging at him in her rapid-fire speech. "They actually have a XXX classification by the Ministry of Magic if they are not interbred with another species because of how aggressive they can be with anyone who isn't their owner or owners family! They are rather amazing, aren't they Harry?"

Harry nodded in response and smiled as he realized that getting her talking about a subject successfully distracted her from her obvious homesickness. He could see Percy covering his mouth to hide a grin and after a moment Harry was given an approving nod. Harry left the Owlery that morning feeling proud of himself for helping his year-mate just by being willing to listen.

They left for breakfast feeling excited about the new day. Harry sat by Ron and Hermione pulled out her books to study. Ron rolled his eyes at that and Harry nudged him with his elbow. As they headed off toward their classes Harry sighed as he realised people were still talking in not-so-hushed voices about him. He found it a bit annoying especially since he and Ron were having problems getting to their classes. There were One-Hundred and Forty-Two staircases in the castle and they were not the stationary kind. They liked to move around and you could end up further away from your goal because of it. Some doors were down right silly in Harry's opinion, not opening unless it was tickled in the right spot?! He was about ready to bang his head in frustration when Beth showed herself. She laughed as she realised the boys were on the wrong side of the castle from their first class and was able to successfully lead them where they needed to go. Ron tried his hardest to remain polite when they saw their class just ahead.

"So how did your...um...you...figure out which way to go mate?" Ron said forcing himself to look straight ahead though it was obvious he was wanting to try to look around and figure out where Beth was. Beth whispered in Harry's ear and he grinned.

"Impeccable sense of direction and the ability to memorized ones surroundings comes in handy doesn't it?" Harry parroted to Ron.

Ron grinned and nodded and the boys managed to make their first class right before the bell sounded. Harry easily found that he enjoyed Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall in which Hermione seemed to excel as she was the only one to turn her matchstick into a needle on her first try and Charms with Professor Flitwick where again Hermione seemed to shine brightest. Herbology with Professor Sprout was Neville's favorite class and Harry found that he, Hermione and Ron found them selves congregating around the shy Gryffindor who knew herbs best. Astronomy was only on Wednesday at midnight, Beth seemed to love those nights the best and would sit on the edge of the tower parapet and stare up at the night sky with a sad smile.

"What are you thinking?" He'd asked her once softly.

"The sky is like the ocean dear Harry." she'd said, voice equally soft. "Some creatures 'swim' through the air as easily as others do the waves. Both can be equally calm and equally treacherous." She looked down at him with a raised brow. "Perhaps you will understand when you have flying lessons, perhaps not."

"So...you're missing someone who can fly?" Harry'd asked.

"You could say that dear Harry." she'd responded with a enigmatic grin.

There were two classes that Harry thought were a sad joke. History of Magic was run by a ghost, Professor Binns, who had apparently died in his sleep in front of the staff room fireplace and had simply gotten up to teach the next morning without his body. He'd found that a bit creepy and resolved to find out what made a ghost.

The next disappointing class was Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell. The room smelled strongly of garlic(Apparently he'd managed to piss off a vampire while in Romania and was terrified of him showing up.) and the Professor's blatant change of subject at being asked to regale his students with how he had protected an African Prince from a zombie and thus been given his 'prized' turban was suspicious.

Friday was a worrisome day for Harry when he found out that they had double potions with Professor Snape. He didn't want to let his Aunt down and wanted to be able to tell her that he had done well. He was still waiting on a response letter from her but Ron had told him that it could take several days sometimes as Hogwarts was pretty much in the 'middle of nowhere' compared to some of the larger cities.

"Ya know that Snape's Head of the Slytherin house," Ron had said in amusement as Harry looked through his first year potions book. "They say he's always favoured those from his house over the others."

"Wish McGonagall favoured us!" Harry said with a laugh. "And I'm not worried about extra points or anything. I really think I'll like Potions, it's kinda a more dangerous version of cooking and I love cooking!"

"Really?" Ron asked in surprise. "You'll want to meet Mum then, she adores cooking. Maybe you can find out if you can come over and visit during the summer?"

"I'll ask." Harry said with a grin.

Just then the mail arrived and Harry looked up hoping to see Hedwig. He saw a flash of white feathers and grinned as his familiar alighted on the table in front of him, a parcel in her claws and a note held with her beak. He grabbed the parcel, which was larger then book and seemed to hold more then just the two requested items and set it beside himself carefully without opening it and grabbed the note.

_'Dear Harry,_

_I know you get friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week! Send us an answer back with Hedwig._

_Hagrid'_

Harry borrowed Ron's quill to write out a quick 'Yes please! Will see you later!' and sent Hedwig off with the response and some bacon. Afterwards they made there way to the dungeons for Potions. Snape started the class with roll call, walking up and down the tables and paused slightly at Harrys name.

"Ah yes, Harry Potter..." Snape said with a drawl. "Our new...Celebrity."

Harry flinched and then fidgeted at the sudden attention as the Professor met his gaze. He tried to give a subtle shake of his head to the Professor with a begging look in his eyes. He really, REALLY didn't want any attention, especially not attention tied to his parents deaths. The more he thought about it the more he was sure it was his mother who did something to stop Voldemort like Beth thought.

To his surprise one of Professor's Snapes brow rose(like Spock he thought with an internal grin) and the Professor seemed to regard him with a curious expression, as if Harry wasn't acting the way he thought he would. The Professor turned his gaze away and turned back to the rest of the class with a sweep of his robes.

*"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word—like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." *

More silence followed that little speech. Suddenly he rounded on Harry who froze.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Powdered...worm..."Harry stutered slight at first, surprised at being called out. He saw Hermione's hand shoot up. "Living...um...Draught of...OH!" He relaxed slightly as the potion came to mind. "Draught of the Living Death sir. It's a strong sleeping potion!"

Professor Snape's brow rose again and Hermione seemed to deflate a bit after Harry answered the question correctly.

"So you DO know how to study." Said the Professor in the same drawl. "Let's test your knowledge. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"Stomach of..." Harry tilted his head slight and he again caught a glance of Hermione's hand shooting into the air trying to get Professor Snape's attention. "...a shee...No! A Goat sir!"

"Very well." Hermione's hand had fallen again with disappointment. "And the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

Hermione's hand once again shot up and this time Harry turned to look to her. He grinned suddenly at an idea and waved a hand to get her attention. He held up one finger and she blinked at him. Professor Snape was watching closely with a critical eyes. He held up a second finger and Hermione's hand fell to her side as her eyes widened and she grinned and nodded at him. Professor Snape's other eyebrow rose to join the first as he looked between the two Gryffindors, the entire class was watching as well whispering to each other. Harry held up the first and both he and Hermione turned to look to the Professor and spoke together.

"They're the same plant sir!" they said in chorus. "And they also go by Aconite!"

Ron was struggling to hold back a laugh and Harry could tell that several others were as well. Professor Snapes brows started twitching in such a way that Harry thought he was either trying not to laugh himself or was very pissed off. Harry watched as Beth moved toward the front of the class as the Professor spun around his robes billowing as he moved to the front of the class.

"Five points for each correct answer and five points each _removed_ for your _cheek_, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger!" he said in a haughty tone. He spun around and sat at his desk with a flourish. "Well?! Why are none of you writing this down?!"

There was a scramble of quills against parchment and Harry gave Hermione a reassuring grin as she looked disappointed that they had won fifteen points but lost ten points due to 'cheek'. Beth walked back over and leaned to whisper in his ear.

"He had a smirk on his lips for a moment when he turned away from the class." she told him. Harry grinned and continued to write down information.

Neville as much as he loved Herbology, seemed to be bunk at Potions, nearly melting Seamus's cauldron. Neville and Seamus were sitting right near Ron and Harry and thankfully Beth had noticed the problem with the brew and got Harrys attention in time for him to get Neville and Seamus away from the cauldron in enough time to prevent either boy from injury from the caustic mixture. Everyone had to jump onto their tables to avoid the bubbling mixture as it spread across the floor. The Professor cleared away the mess and gave Neville and Seamus a blistering talking-to and issued Harry one point for the timely rescue, which did nothing to really dent the ten point loss for incompetence that Seamus and Neville gained. Harry didn't care too much for the point loss he was simply grateful that no one was harmed. Potions really was like cooking with a one-hundred percent increase to dangerous fall out if one wasn't careful.

After classes Harry and Ron headed down to meet up with Hagrid where the met Fang who seemed to be a very lazy black boarhound. Harry wondered if Hagrid was one of those people in the habit of naming nice pets by dangerous names and dangerous pets by nice names. He learned that Hagrids rock cakes were only edible after being dipped and softened in tea and that their was a break-in at Gringotts on his birthday. He turned to Hagrid in surprise.

"I thought you said no one could break in! Did they catch the thief?" Harry asked in surprise.

Hagrid had told them that no one had been caught and promptly changed the subject which raised concern for Ron, Harry and Beth. They instantly wondered what Hagrid could possibly know about the situation. Once they were done at Hagrid's Harry and Ron darted back to their dorm. Confirming that the twins were out Harry opened the parcel he had gotten that morning. There was the Saran Wrap he asked for, a recent history book and then two board games that Harry enjoyed; Clue and Monopoly. Harry agreed to teach Ron how to play later, more fun with more people anyway, and opened the letter from his aunt and cousin.

_Dear Harry,_

_I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your first day at school. Dudley was quite excited about your mention of ghosts and wants you to inform him of any off creatures you may meet throughout the year. _

_I do quite agree with you on this Sorting Hat you described. I doubt water would affect it poorly and wonder why in the blazes the school staff does not get it a proper washing before placing it on a new students head. Have they never heard of _germs!_ I do hope you washed your hair as soon as you were able to, you don't know if anyone has lice and placing a filthy hat on each of the new students head is a prime way to spread such nasty little things. _

_Here are the items you requested and I added two of your favorite games. It's too bad about magic affecting electronics. I'll try to get a microscope for you however as you can find many without the extra electric bits, you'll need to find a well lit area though to use it. _

_Dudley is doing well in public school. I refused to place him in Smeltings where _he_ went. The uniform clashes horribly and they give their students a staff to whack themselves and their teachers! There is no _proper_ respect for adults taught there! Dudley was quite happy to remain in public school as he would have lost some friends otherwise._

_Do let me know if you need anything and please stay out of trouble. I have a bad feeling about sending you the saran wrap, but after our very long talks I have found you have not pranked someone who either did not deserve it, like that bigger boy who was bullying that poor girl in first grade you told me about, or were pranksters themselves like Dudley and Piers have turned out to be, at least they have the sense to not prank adults. I do hope that it is not the later by the by, as you may start a 'prank war' and I have never heard of those ending well unless you are good friends with the person you are pranking. Either way _be safe_ most of all._

_Love,_

_Aunt Petunia._

"Wow!" Ron said as he started looking midway through the muggle history book. "Muggles have really come a long way haven't they? I knew about motorcars but Airplanes?"

"That's not all they've been up to." Harry said with a grin. "Hey, I'm going to go set up my prank for the twins, afterwards we need to be 'doing other things'!"

"I'll go talk to Hermione about this book. Right Know-it-All that she is and muggleborn to boot, she'll be able to explain some things I bet. You need my help?"

"Nah, I can set it up myself."

Ron nodded and Harry explained how the Saran wrap was going to be used. He struggled to hold back his laughter as he went to find Hermione. Harry was able to sneak into the twins dorm room and confirm which beds belonged to the twins. Their dorm mates were sworn to secrecy, they really wanted to get the twins back for some previous pranks, and Harry set to work. The twins kept their bed curtains drawn and Harry carefully drew them open on either side. A few carefully layered sheets of saran wrap later to each bed and he closed up the curtains. He'd have gone for the bathroom prank he'd originally thought up but the bathrooms were all public save for the Head Boy and Girl. The twins would rebound off the plastic wrap and the dark lighting of the rooms would prevent reflection off of the surface as long as the curtains weren't pulled all the way open. The dorm room mates assured them that the twins always left the curtains closed as they were often experimenting with spells and the like.

Harry grinned and carefully left the tower, letting Ron know he was going to do some exploring. He wandered aimlessly with Beth at his side who would give him a nudge if he seemed to start for the forbidden third-floor corridor. Finally he found his way up to the tower used for Astronomy. The view was even more amazing during daylight hours. He was startled though when he heard a soft voice.

'_Too high. Too open. Evil two leggers! Eagles and hawks and owls! No place to hide!'_

Harry looked around and then finally located a young garden snake trying to hide in the shadows of the parapet. He walked over slowly and bent down in front of the snake, keeping a few feet between them so as not to scare the poor thing further.

_'Hi there.' _He said_._

_'A Speaker! Please! Get me away from here! Birds will see me!' _hissed the snake.

_'I will get you to safety. I'm going to pick you up now, alright?' _

Harry gently lifted the snake just as he heard a startled squeak from behind him. He turned and saw Neville who was looking at him and was quite pale.

"What's wrong Neville?" Harry asked in concern.

"Y-y-y-you..._talked_ to that snake!" Neville managed to squeak out.

"Is that a bad thing?" Harry asked with a blink. Beth beside him started talking angrily in her language for a few moments before crossing her arms sternly. Neville jumped slightly and wrung his hands a bit as he looked at the ground.

"Well, it's just that the last wizard who could talk to snakes was...You-Know-Who!" Neville said in a small voice.

"Oh." Harry thought for a few long moments then nodded his head. "Neville, are there wizards and witches who can talk to and understand cats?"

Neville nodded. "It's rare."

"How about dogs or wolves?"

A nod from the other boy.

"Birds?"

Another nod.

"And are any of those people automatically evil because they speak to those animals?" Harry asked.

"Well...no."

"See, it's a skill, like anything else."

Neville looked doubtful. "I suppose you're right, but I wouldn't go spreading it around. Not a lot of people will look at it like that."

Harry nodded and was about to say something else when there was a bang from the door and Filch, the caretaker poked his head up. His eyes narrowed on the snake in Harry's hands.

"AHAH!" Filch shouted. "Leaving a nasty snake to scare the others are you!"

"No!" Harry said startled. "I found the po-"

"A likely story!" he grabbed both boys by their ears and yanked them back downstairs. "Taking you to Professor Snape I am. He'll know what to do with you boys! Evil Nasty Children!"

Neville started whimpering and Harry did his best to both hold onto the poor garden snake and try to reassure Neville at the same time. Beth was moving along behind them and was frowning at the School Caretaker. She shook her head when Harry tried to give her a desperate look.

"I'll only get you in more trouble if I try to do something Dear Harry. Tell Professor Snape the truth when we get to him."

Harry nodded as much as he could and tried to stand a little straighter. Filch led them into the potions room where Professor Snape was currently organizing the potions supply cabinet. He turned with a raised brow to look at both boys and frowned when he saw the snake in Harry's hands.

"Caught these two trying to leave a Nasty surprise Professor!" Filch said in an excited voice.

"Indeed. I will take it from here. Dismissed Mr. Filch."

Filch left looking disappointed, Harry felt for sure that he wanted to witness whatever punishment the boys would get. Neville was almost in tears and clenching his hands closed to his chest. Harry gave him a nudge and tried to give him a reassuring look. He stepped forward to the Professor, carefully holding up the snake.

"I was exploring the castle and ended up in the Astronomy tower sir." Harry began. The Professor's brow arched and he crossed his arms an almost sneer on his lips. "I heard this little guy."

"Heard him slithering about? I doubt that Mr. Potter, snakes are quite silent when they sense danger."

Harry frowned and shook his head before looking to Beth. She nodded and indicated for him to continue and he turned back to the Professor.

"No sir, I mean I _heard_ him. He was talking about mean two leggers and dangerous birds."

Whatever reaction Harry was expecting wasn't the one he got. Professor Snape stared at him for several long moments. When Harry's words finally registered the man went whiter then normal and fell back against the supply cabinet with a thud that knocked several containers over. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally spoke.

"You _heard_ the snake. You can _talk_ to the snake." He said in a strained voice.

"Yes sir, here, see?" Harry looked down at the snake and carefully shifted the snake into his left hand, holding his right next to his left he looked to the snake. _'Would you moved to my right hand please?'_

_'Speaker...you two leggers are strange.' _Said the snake as he moved to Harry's right hand.

Professor Snape was rubbing at the bridge of his nose after the snake moved. He then moved to grab an aquarium and carefully took the snake from Harry and put him inside along with a few dozen crickets. The snake hissed happily with the results and Harry let out a soft giggle.

"He said 'thank you he-who-smells-of-herbs for the crunchies.' They are his favorite."

Professor Snape's brow twitched slightly as watched the snake catching the crickets and then turned to Harry and Neville.

"I will not issue a detention. However I will be speaking with the Headmaster about your...ability...Mr. Potter. _Tell no one_, do you both understand me? The Headmaster will wish to speak with you both at some point I expect. Back to your dorm room!"

Both boys nodded and fled for their dorm. Harry frowned a bit as he realised Neville's hands were still held closed to his chest and he placed a hand on the boys shoulder when they got to the Gryffindor Painting.

"Hey mate, we're both ok. No detention or anything. Neither of us did anything wrong, so breathe."

Neville nodded and took a deep breath to steady himself. They both went inside feeling very relieved and Harry resolved not to do any exploring for a little bit. When they got inside they heard the twins interrogating everyone in the dorm about the 'spell' that was cast on their beds and the 'vengeance' they would reap on the culprit when they figured out who did it. Harry made his way to his room with care to make sure the Saran wrap was hidden amongst the school supply side of his trunk.

please read and review!


	11. Chapter 11

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

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Chapter 11: Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.

If there was one person Harry could say that he both enjoyed and loathed being around, then that person would be Draco Malfoy. At times the blonde boy would join Harry's group, at the moment consisting of Ron and Neville and sometimes Hermione. Draco was quite intelligent, when he focused on his studies, and they shared many a conversation on different branches of magic and the usefulness thereof. Many times however, Harry wanted to smack the other boy upside the head because of his 'superiority complex'. Ron and Hermione didn't get along that well, but if Draco insulted Hermione's intelligence Ron was the first to snap for the blonde to 'shut it'. Harry had to admit though that sometimes the arguments between Draco and Hermione were quite amusing, especially after he'd wheedled Draco into reading the history book he'd gotten his aunt to send. He couldn't believe that muggles had developed a technology that let them see blood cells, microscopes. Hermione ended up snapping facts at him such as 'DNA was first isolated by the Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher in 1869' and 'DNA carries genetic information which is how certain traits are passed from parent to child', such as Draco being blonde.

"I know traits are passed through blood lines! But to say _muggles_ have found a way to view what you call 'blood cells' and even _inside_ blood cells to view 'DNA'?! NO! _Muggles_ are _inferior_ to the wizarding world!"

"Muggles aren't inferior Draco," Hermione said with a forced patient tone. "they just had to find different ways of doing the same things. We fly with magic brooms. They developed technology to build airplanes. We use carefully tried potions to cure illness. They use microscopes to look at and create antiviruses and antibacterials by studying said viruses or bacterias. It's just a different way of doing things, neither is inferior then the other!"

Draco was still against the whole thing even though he kept reading the history book and complaining about the things he read that he thought were impossible. Harry wondered if the only thing holding Draco back was years of believing that muggles technological skills only amounted to cars and planes. Neville himself was fascinated with the information on DNA and wondered if there was anything similar done for muggle plants which led to Hermione promising to get him a muggle herbology book so he could compare and contrast Muggle Herbology and Wizarding Herbology.

Still the biggest 'prat' moment for Draco was when they had flying class for the first time. Neville had been given a Rememberall by his Gran that morning. Neville was grateful for the gift but everyone, including Nev, was in agreement that the little item was pretty much useless. It let you know that you'd forgotten something but gave no clue or hint or reminder of what it was you had actually forgotten. A gift was a gift in Neville's opinion and he was glad his Gran was thinking of him even if it was a bunk gift. Draco had come over to see if Hermione had gotten her family tree as of yet, to no avail, and had immediately centered on the shy Gryffindor and started to tease him about the Rememberall. His fun was cut short as Professor McGonagall was walking by but he started back up in Madam Hooch's class.

Madam Hooch taught students how to use brooms for flight and had walked them through a number of simple steps. Neville however had gotten nervous and had shot off before she gave the single. He'd gone up...and up. He'd gone up a good twenty or more feet before slipping off of the broom and plummeting to the ground. Harry noticed that there was a faint pulse in the air right before Neville hit the ground, shifting him enough so he fell onto his arm and not on his head. The pulse did nothing to cushion the fall however so a sickening crack still sounded. Madam Hooch immediately rushed Neville off to the infirmary with a stern warning to everyone to stay on the ground. Draco had noticed Neville's Rememberall on the ground and had run to grab it with a laugh.

"Look! It's the stupid thing Longbottom's Gran sent him!"

"Give it here, Draco." Harry said in a stern voice moving over to the blonde and holding out his hand for the sphere.

"The thing is useless Harry! It would work better as a decoration for a tree!" A light entered Draco's eyes which almost caused Harry to groan. "In fact that's what I'll do!"

"Draco! Give it here!"

But Draco had already leapt onto his broom and shot off. Draco hadn't been bragging earlier for nothing, Harry thought with a frown, he actually could fly very well. He stopped level with the top of an oak tree.

"How about here? What do you think?" Draco called with a laugh.

Harry growled and grabbed his broom. Hermione tried to shout for him to stop. Once Harry was up on the broom he'd almost forgotten about Draco. The feeling of flying was amazing and Harry had felt an intense and instinctual joy once he was in the air. He went into a dive and then sharply rose up to be level  
with Draco. Below he could just make out Hermione's warning shouts to be careful, Ron's excited whoops of admiration at Harry's control and Beth's warning to get down and get down NOW. Harry ignored them all and held out his hand to Draco.

"Draco, come on, give it here. You wouldn't like it if I took something from you that your mum gave you, would you?"

"Mother," Draco started in a haughty tone. "would never send me something so useless. You heard Neville, even he agreed!"

"Doesn't matter if it will do anything useful or not Draco." Harry said trying to keep his voice even and not reflect the annoyance he felt at the other boy. "It was a gift from someone he loves. Any gift from someone you love is a precious object." Harry raised a brow as he thought of another way to look at the situation and try to get the Rememberall back without a fight.

"If you're not going to look at it that way then look at it like the Slytherin you are. The Longbottom's are an old family like your own right? Do you really want to piss off the Heir to the Longbottom family? A potential political ally? Would you hobble yourself like that when you might need something from him later on?"

Draco'd looked doubtfully at Harry for a few moments, contemplating Harry's words before he growled and shoved the rememberall out to the green-eye'd boy. Harry reached to take the rememberall and it suddenly slipped from Draco's hand. Draco's eyes widened in shock and Harry knew the boy hadn't meant for that to happen. Harry didn't spare him another thought though and immediately dived for the Rememberall. The world narrowed down to his dive and his focus locked on to the object. He barely realised that the ground was rushing to meet him as he reached out his hand and grabbed onto the small ball. He felt a tingle surrounding him right as he pulled out of his dive barely a foot from the ground. He wasn't able to right himself properly as he pulled from the dive and went toppling off of his broom. For a moment he realised he was hovering about an inch before he suddenly fell that last inch and hit the ground with an 'omph!' as his nose connected with the grassy ground.

He looked up and froze his eyes wide as Beth stood above him, arms crossed and a very angry look on her face. He smiled meekly up at her and held up the rememberall.

"I caught it?" He said tentatively.

Her eyes narrowed and the pupils of her eyes disappeared. She opened her mouth to deliver what was most likely going to be a very scathing lecture about stupidity but was interrupted by a shout from a different, but no less enraged, female voice.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Harry went pale and scrambled to his feet. Professor McGonagall was advancing on his position. Everyone else was maintaining a distance from Harry and Draco he saw had managed to land and was hiding, not so subtly, behind his 'guards' Crabbe and Goyle.

"Professor I..." she cut him off.

"NEVER...in all my years at Hogwarts!" she began. Several other students immediately tried to rise to his defense.

"It wasn't his fault Professor...!"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil..."

"But Malfoy...!"

"That is ENOUGH, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Potter you will follow me NOW."

Harry risked a glance back at the others as he moved after the Professor. Ron looked worried and Hermione was deadly pale. Draco looked both relieved that he wasn't being dragged along, apologetic that he had gotten Harry into trouble when he'd actually listened to the Green-eye'd boys advise and was giving back the small sphere and trying to remain sufficiently 'haughty' as the other slytherins surrounded him. He even mouthed a 'Sorry' over his shoulder as Harry left and Harry waved it off and tried to smile at the group in what he hoped would be a reassuring look. He almost tripped when Beth smacked him upside the head however and he twisted to look at her while rubbing the struck spot. He barely made out Ron's 'Look's like someone else is pissed too...' and the resultant agreements and 'shush!s' from the others.

Harry immediately wiped the grin from his face and followed along behind the irate Professor. He wondered if what he had done was a expelable offense or if he would have detentions. Then he started to worry about how a wizarding worlds detentions varied from a muggle's. Would he had to write lines or perhaps clean something without magic. He imagined the later would be an effective punishment for a wizard-born who would be used to having magic on hand. He almost ran into the Professor when she stopped in front of a class room and earned another stern glare from the woman. He winced and looked down as she entered the class.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, can I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Harry shared a look with Beth and then looked back to see a burly fifth-year boy come of of the Charms class with a confused look on his face. She then led both boys to a mostly empty class room, mostly empty because Peeves was inside who was busy writing rather rude words on the chalkboard. A stern word from Professor McGonagall and he left. She flicked her wand at the chalkboard and the board was wiped clean and then with a swish the door slammed shut. Harry shared another look at Beth who was starting to look a bit confused herself.

"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a Seeker."

Wood suddenly looked delighted and Beth was starting to look upset.

"Are you serious Professor?"

"Absolutely." Professor McGonagall said crisply. "The boy is a natural. That was your first time on a broom stick, Potter?"

Harry nodded slowly, still eyeing Beth out of the corner of his eye. Her arms were crossed again and she was looking ready to throw a fit.

"He caught this," Professor McGonagall pointed to Harry's hands and he obliged by showing the rememberall to Oliver. "after a fifty-foot dive. Not even a scratch on the boy. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done better."

Oliver had rounded on Harry asking if he knew Quidditch and Professor McGonagall explained that Wood was the Captain of the Gryffindor team. While they talked about his build and his skill he cleared his throat softly to get their attention.

"I thought first years couldn't play?"

"No, no not at all!" Wood exclaimed with a grin and then leaned in to whisper to Harry and Professor McGonagall. "The rule is that first years cannot _'own their own brooms'_. Many take that to believe that first years cannot join the Teams but they could use the _school_ brooms in the meantime."

Professor McGonagall's eyes lit up with a fervent fire and she clapped her hand on Wood's arm.

"You are right Mr. Wood. I never looked at it that way. I do believe that I own a very nice broom that I could let my teams Seeker _borrow_." She let out a sigh. "Merlin knows, we need a better team then last year. Flattened in that last match with Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus in the eye for weeks!"

She turned to Harry with a stern look in her eyes.

"I want to hear that you are training hard, Potter, else I might change my mind about punishing you." She smiled suddenly. "Your father would have been so proud, he was quite the player himself."

She started forward and Harry looked worriedly at Beth who was muttering angrily under her breath in her own language, a tick developing near her eye. Harry hurried to move in front of the Professor who raised a brow at him in surprise.

"I um...think it would be...um...fair Professor...if I was given detention?" He glanced around Professor McGonagall to Beth, who'd stopped talking and was watching them both carefully. The Professor glanced over her shoulder with a frown and then her brows rose with realization.

"I do imagine that if your..._friends_...found out about my leeway they would attempt something just as reckless. However, I did see both you and Mr Malfoy in the air. If you are in trouble so is he," Harry seemed to deflate a bit as he looked to Beth and then back to the Professor. "Now, your punishment will be that you both will join Professor Snape for a week cleaning cauldrons, and you, Harry, will not be allowed to play until next year," Wood looked down right mutinous at that. "OR, you go tell Mr. Malfoy the loophole we have just discovered and give him the chance to try out for his team."

"But that's aiding the enemy!" Wood cried out in shock.

"Be that as it may Mr. Wood, Harry and Draco are getting along, to the surprise of everyone in the school, including myself. I would rather not damage the first Gryffindor/Slytherin friendship that we have had in years and if that means risking that Draco will be a good Seeker for Slytherin then that is a risk I will take." Professor McGonagall looked wistful. "I don't mind good old fashioned rivalry between houses, Professor Snape and I have an amicable rivalry going, but there have been times that the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry has gotten down right _vicious_. That needs to change." She looked at Harry then. "Well Mr. Potter?"

Harry gave Beth a pleading look. She sighed softly and rubbed the bridge of her nose walking over to where he was standing. Growling softly under her breath she finally nodded to Harry but grabbed his arm before he could turn around and talk to McGonagall.

"She may not be issuing punishment, but I will. After dinner each night you are to go back to your dorm and work on your homework, then straight to bed for a week. No exploring or else!"

Harry nodded to her with a wince and turned to the Professor promising to let Draco know about the loophole. Beth followed at a sedate pace and then paused about halfway back to the class, looking over her shoulder. She waved for Harry to move along and then ducked through a wall into an empty classroom. Harry shrugged and then he rushed off back to flying class and managed to pull said boy to the side. Draco was at first appalled that Harry would be making Seeker but then relaxed as Harry explained the loophole to Draco and Harry's choice to avoid ending both the boys cleaning cauldrons. His eyes widened and a look of sheer joy flashed over the boys face.

"Professor Snape is my Godfather! He's sure to 'own a broom' that I can 'Borrow'!" Draco said with a excited grin.

"There's no guarantee you'll get the spot though." Harry said firmly. "The Captain will need to check your skill mate."

"Oh I know that! I'll be picked! Father has a few Snitches at home that I practice with. He said I'm very skilled!" Draco said with a note of his usual haughtiness slipping in amongst his excitement. "We should celebrate!"

Hermione and Ron had drifted over to the two boys by then. Ron was excited about Harry making Seeker, less so for the possibility that Draco would be Slytherin's Seeker. Herminoe however was livid.

"Celebrate!? You both disobeyed teacher instructions!" all three boys winced as her voice got shrill. "Harry you could have _killed_ yourself with that dive! I cannot believe that the two of you would be foolish enough to celebrate this...this..._farce_!"

"Look Granger," Draco always used her last name when he was annoyed with the girl, "we're both alive, both not in trouble and both of us are likely to end up being the youngest Seekers in over a century. What about that is NOT something to celebrate?"

"BOYS!" she shrieked and then stomped off back to her broom.

"She'll get over it mate." Ron said knowingly. "She's just upset 'cause she's all for following the rules. You can't live without breaking a few rules here and there."

"Wise words Weasley, wise words." Draco responded. "I know the perfect spot to meet up."

"Um...I'm kinda grounded though." Harry said sheepishly.

"Grounded?!" the other two said in surprise.

"How the heck are you grounded? You're aunt hasn't even...Ooooh!" Dracos eyes widened and he sighed. "Well that will make things difficult."

"Yeah." Harry nodded as the other two boys frowned.

"Ahem..." Draco waved his hand around slightly and raised a brow at Harry. Harry blinked, then catching on looked around quickly and then shook his head. "Alright...Do you think you can sneak away tonight? Around midnight?"

"I...could try...I don't know if it will work though."

Draco nodded. "Fair enough. We'll try to meet up at the Trophy Room, it's always unlocked. I'll bring some butterbeer an upper year slipped me."

They all nodded in agreement at the arrangement and went back to the others, Madam Hooch showed back up and let everyone know that Neville would be fine and continued the class.

The rest of the day went rather well for the boys. Harry kept his agreement with Beth and headed to the dorm immediately after dinner. As he had nothing else to do he worked on his homework in the common room. Beth checked in on him every so often to make sure he was behaving. Harry was nervous about that night, worried that she would catch him if he tried to leave. He decided that he wanted to give it a try at least, if she was there when he woke up he'd just say he needed some water or to use the loo.

To nervous to sleep Harry and Ron both feigned sleep and drew their curtains closed. Harry got up at around half past eleven and looked around the bed and then carefully looked around the room for Beth. Not seeing her he let out a relieved sigh and slipped Ron's curtain open.

"Come on." Harry whispered. "All clear."

Ron nodded and both boys slid out of their room and down the stairs to the main common room. Harry moved at the front constantly looking around for his Imaginary. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice caused them both to freeze.

"I can't believe you're doing this, Harry."

A lamp flickered on revealing Hermione in a pink bathrobe and wearing a stern frown. Harry gulped.

"You!" Ron hissed softly. "Go back to bed this has nothing to do with you."

"I was going to tell your brother, Percy, about this. He's a Prefect. He'd put a stop to this!"

Both boys looked at each other and started quickly for the portrait hole. Hermione followed after them, the perfect likeness of a hissing and spitting cat.

"Don't either of you two _CARE_ about Gryffindor? Or do you only care about yourselves? I've won a lot of points for Gryffindor! And I wont have you ruining our chances at the House Cup!"

"Go away." Ron hissed back at her.

"Fine then! I warned you! When you two are heading back on the train because you've been EXPELLED you don't get to say..."

Hermione had turned back around at that point and found the portrait had closed behind them. Not only that but the Fat Lady was not within the painting. They were locked out of the Gryffindor tower and couldn't get back in even if they wanted to.

"Now what am I going to do?!" Hermione asked wildly. Ron shushed her.

"Don't yell. And it doesn't matter. You didn't have to follow us. Now we have to go, we're running late as it is!"

They started walking away and were a bit surprised when Hermione caught up with them.

"I'm coming with you!"

"No you're not! You wanted nothing to do with our 'celebration' remember?!" Ron hissed.

"You think I'm going to stand around waiting for Filch to find me?! You-"

"Hush!" Harry said suddenly to the two. "I heard something."

The kids froze, afraid that it was Filch's cat Mrs. Norris. What they found though as their eyes adjusted to the darkness was Neville. He was asleep, but woke quickly as they approached him.

"Oh thank goodness!" Neville said as he wiped his eyes. "I've forgotten the password. Been out here for hours now!"

"Keep your voice down Nev," Harry said with a relieved grin. "Password's 'Pig snout' but it's not going to do any good. The Fat Lady isn't in her portrait right now."

They chatted for a few more moments, asking how Neville arm was. Harry let him know he had his Rememberall in the dorm for him and let him know about making Seeker and telling Draco. Ron nudged him and then they started off for the Trophy Room again. Neville immediately followed them, not wanting to be left behind.

They made their way into the Trophy Room on the third floor. The room was filled with cups, plates, shields and statues of silver gold and bronze behind polished crystal cases. They stuck to the shadows of the room and settled down to wait for Draco and his promised butterbeer. Ron checked the time and then looked at Harry with annoyance in his eyes.

"I think the git chickened out!" He muttered to the group.

"Maybe, or he might have gotten caught. We're lucky we got out remember?"

Ron grumbled and nodded. A noise suddenly caught the small groups attention and they all froze, looking over toward one of the doors.

"Sniff around my sweet. Let us see if anyone is foolish to be out this night, yes?"

The children shared a frightened look and carefully moved to the door opposite from the one they heard Filch at. Neville had his hand over his mouth trying to muffle his whimpers as the others carefully guiding him along as they tried to flee. Neville suddenly let out a loud squeak and fell, grabbing Ron's arm and sending them body int a suit of armor.

"RUN!" Harry cried as he grabbed Neville and Hermione grabbed Ron. They ran down the corridors with Harry in the lead. They ran through one corner and another. Seeing a tapestry that hung down to the ground he swung it up to high behind and found a Hidden passageway. Holding it open for the others and then ducking through himself they kept running fast as they could. He could see Neville holding his side and grabbed the boys arm to help him stay on his feet. They finally exited the passageway and found themselves near the Charms classroom. They stopped for a few moments panting for breath. Harry kept his grip on Neville's arm to prevent him from falling over.

"I think we lost him." Harry managed to gasp out.

Hermione was gasping and clutching at her chest. "I-Told-You!" she kept saying over and over.

"We gotta get back to the tower." Ron wheezed out.

"He tricked you, Malfoy, he had to have tricked you."

"Don't say that Hermione." Harry said, standing straight as he got his breath back. "Filch didn't know we were there, he wasn't saying anything like 'they are here somewhere' or 'where are they hiding'. He specifically said 'let's see if anyone is here'. Draco wanted to celebrate as much as us. He might not have been able to get out like we did."

Hermione continued to grumble about the situation, Harry caught a few words like 'boys' and 'gits' and 'loosing points'. Sadly though, it wasn't going to be easy to get back to their dorm even after their frantic flight. They hadn't gone more then a few feet before the handle of a door started rattling and a ghostly form shot out through the door. All of them froze and went pale. It was Peeves.

He caught sight of the group and let out a crooning noise and clapped his hands together.

"Out and about after midnight, Ickle Firsties?" He cackled and floated upside-down in front of them. "Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Peeves, shut up please!" Harry hissed at him looking around frantically.

"We wont get caught if you don't give us away Peeves!" Hermione said in a begging tone.

"Should tell Filch, I should." Peeves said in a high, sweet tone that was counter to the wicked look in his eyes. "For your own good, you know."

"Get outta the way!" Ron said angrily, taking a swipe at the poltergeist.

It was the wrong thing to do. Peeves immediately took offense and started screaming at the top of his ghostly lungs that children were out of bed. The words echoed through the hall and the children fled once more away from Peeves and Filch. They ran to the end of the corridor they were in and slammed against the door. Ron frantically tried to turn the handle to no avail. They could hear footsteps advancing on their location.

"Move over!" Hermione said and shoved Ron to the side. She tapped her wand against the doorknob and whispered out, "_Alohomora_!"

The door unlocked with a click and they piled through and slammed the door leaned close to the door to listen.

"Which way did they go Peeves?" they heard Filch say. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'Please'" Said the poltergeist in a petulant tone.

"Don't mess with me Peeves, now where did they go?!"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please." Peeves said in a singsong voice.

"All right- Please." Filch said in an exasperated tone.

"NOTHING! Haa Haa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please!" with that they heard Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing up a storm.

"He thinks the door is locked!" Harry whispered in relief. "We're going to be...Neville quit that, we're oka..." Neville had been tugging on Harry's sleeve, Harry had turned to look at the boy and froze along with Ron and Hermione. He realized, as his eyes went wide, that they weren't in a random corridor. They were in the Forbidden Corridor, and they now knew WHY it was Forbidden.

In front of them a massive dog was rising to its feet. Once at full height it filled the space easily from floor to ceiling, but that really wasn't the worst thing. It had three, angry, hungry looking heads. They all screamed suddenly in fright and Harry fumbled at the door handle, it took a desperate moment and only the dogs surprise at their presence saved them as he wrenched open the door and they all rushed out. Harry slammed the door shut and Hermione snapped off a quick spell that he wasn't able to make out. He heard the door lock however as they tore down the halls for Gryffindor tower. Snapping out the password to the Fat Lady they darted inside and collapsed on the couches in the common room for several moments.

"Why in the blazes would they have a dog that size in the school?" Ron panted out. "I don't get it!"

"The big question, is what it is protecting. Didn't any of you notice?" Hermione said, all the boys shook their heads slowly. "It was standing on a trap door."

"Only you would notice something like that Hermione." Harry said with a grin. "I've got to get to bed, though. Lets talk about it later."

They said their good nights and Harry and Ron hurried back up to their room. Harry looked around carefully as he entered, not seeing Beth. Letting out a sigh of relief that had Ron laughing at him, they both climbed back into bed and collapsed in exhaustion. Harry never did notice Beth coming in behind them with an exasperated, yet loving, expression on her face. He didn't notice her tapping into his core to be able to shift him under his covers or close his bed curtains. And he completed missed her words.

"What am I going to do with you, dear, crazy, Harry?"

+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/

The next morning found Harry standing outside the doors to the main hall waiting for Draco. When the boy showed up Harry saw annoyance in his eyes and he refrained from punching the boys arm. Instead he moved to walk side by side with him for the moment.

"So where were you?"

"Couldn't sleep. Our Prefect thought I was homesick and offered me some hot chocolate." Draco said with a growl. "Shouldn't have drunk it, it was laced with a sleeping potion."

"Sneaky." Harry said with a blink. "We almost got caught by Filch thanks to Peeves."

"Close call that. Next time threaten him with the Bloody Baron, it'll keep Peeves in line."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Both boys moved off to their respective tables and started chowing down on breakfast. Hermione refused to talk to Harry or Ron and even ignored them if they offered her food or asked her to pass the butter. The boys sighed and shared a look. They figured it would be best to leave them be. Her anger however faded at the arrival of the mail. A massive rolled up paper was delivered and she stood up and shouted to the Slytherin table.

"Draco! It's _here_!"

Draco had just bitten into a treacle tart when she yelled for him. His head jerked up in surprise and he rushed over to the Gryffindor table, treacle tart still in his mouth. He started to talk to her as he shoved Ron to the side and sat down next to Harry. Ron let out a shout of annoyance and then yanked his plate out from in front of Draco and started eating again with a growl. Hermione cleared away all the plates and dishes in front of her, Harry and Draco. She spread out the large paper and they looked in amazement at the Granger Family Tree, complete with mini, non moving, pictures. Draco immediately started rambling off pure blood family names and they each started looking. This drew the attention of not only all the Gryffindor's but the Headmaster and each head of house. Even a people from each house wandered over, including Pansy Parkinson, who'd attached herself to Draco.

"Why did you rush over here at a...a _muggleborns_ call Draco?" she asked in a haughty tone.

Hermione then proceeded to try to explain the bet between the two boys when Harry cried out.

"Here! There's a name about ten generations back, Celborn-" Draco suddenly cut Harry off with a sqwak of surprise.

"No here! By Merlin! Cassiopeia..." His voice trailed off as he looked up at Hermione with disbelief.

Pansy looked over Draco's shoulder at the name he was pointing at, and promptly fainted. Only Professor Snape's quick reaction saved the girl from bashing her head on the stone floor.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Bwahahaha! Cliff hanger! Can you guess who Hermione is related to?

REview!


	12. Chapter 12

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

/*/*/*/*/*/**/

Chapter 12: History Lessons and Trolls.

Draco had reacted swiftly after they found the names on Hermione's family tree. Writing out multiple letters he sent off his own owl, the school owl that brought Hermione her letter, and then commandeered Hedwig for the last letter (he had to shove a piece of bacon into her beak to keep her from biting him as he yanked her off of Harry's shoulder).

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, confusion in his voice.

"I didn't think it would go this far Potter," Draco said in a subdued voice. "I didn't expect us to find anything, didn't believe you, didn't WANT to believe you could be right."

"?" Everyone, staff and student, was looking at Draco.

"Look, we found two family names. This doesn't mean she really is part of those families. We need to be sure."

"Well!" Hermione huffed crossing her arms.

"Wait, hear me out." Draco said raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Goblins."

"Okay...?" Harry said in confusion while Ron's eyes lit up.

"Right! Goblins will be able to prove the claim. The letters went off to the Head's of the Families and to Gringotts didn't they?" Ron said with a grin.

Draco nodded and then proceeded to explain to Harry and Hermione that Gringott's used blood when a Witch or Wizard opened an account in order to ensure that any account would go to the proper blood relatives unless said Witch or Wizards will demanded otherwise. If the vault would pass to one not of the Witch or Wizards blood another blood sample would need to be taken from the new owner of the vault to tie said vault to the new Heir.

"They did this as it was a little more common in the old days for the men to...uh...stray. So when a woman came forth claiming to have the son or daughter of a Wizard, he could take the child to Gringott's to have them tested for their lineage. They will also take blood samples from children if they turn out to be an only child in order to be able to confirm who has the closest blood tie if they have an untimely death. Like to be thorough with inheritance that lot."

"That's similar to Parental DNA tests that muggles use, originating in the 1920's." Hermione said thoughtfully. "It's not a hundred percent accurate though. Are the goblins able to confirm just blood relation or are they able to narrow it down exactly to 'this is your father/mother'?"

"The goblins are not exact past a certain point." Draco responded. "They can tell for certain if someone is the Son or Daughter of a Wizard, if you are Brother or Sister long lost, or if you share a Grandfather or even a Great Grandfather, but any further back and all they can say is that there is a relation by blood. They couldn't tell you if you are related because of a shared Great-great-great-great Grandfather for example. It is up to the wizard to find the relation any further back from the Great Grandparent once blood relation is confirmed."

"So you're trying to help arrange for a visit to Gringotts for me?" Hermione said in a surprised tone.

"Yes. You'll want to owl your parents as well since we found names from both sides of your family."

Hermione let out a squeak at that and asked Professor Flitwick to transfigure her some paper. She wrote out her letter swiftly and managed to convince one of the remaining owls to take her letter, after a generous offering of three bacon strips.

"So why were you so shocked seeing that name Draco? Cassiopeia?" Harry asked.

"Well. She was one of the few Squibs of note. Absolutely brilliant at Potions."

"Wait how?" Hermione said with a confused tone. "I've read ahead some for potions, some of them need to be infused with magic, you have to wave your wand over them the required amount."

"Indeed Ms. Granger." Professor Snape said in his drawling voice. "Mr. Malfoy however is correct, and the reason why is that Miss Cassiopeia Black had a Full Blood assistant. A childhood friend who's only wish was to help Cassiopeia fulfill her dream of becoming a Potions Mistress despite her lack of magic."

"It's a really tragic tale," Draco said as he looked to the ceiling. "They were doing exceptionally well, Cassiopeia was showing all the signs of being a brilliant Potions Inventor, but then tragedy struck."

Everyone was leaning forward now, even Ron, his food laying, for once, forgotten in front of him. The teachers too, leaned forward, many of which who knew the story, but wanting to hear the story from the young man none-the-less.

"You see she, like many others over the years, was looking for a way to cure the Werewolf Disease. At only twenty-one she started trying her first attempts. The first two tries did nothing...the third," Draco paused for dramatic effect and many leaned further forward. He suddenly flung his hands outward. "there was an explosion that released a mass of strong acid that covered the entire room."

There were several gasps at that. Professor Snape took over the narrative.

"Potions work requires a naturally cool environ, which is why the class is in the dungeons and why we do not cast warming charms beyond personal ones. Miss Black's Potions room was no different, set almost a half mile underground and the walls made of five feet of solid stone. The acid released from the defective potion was so potent that by the time her family neutralized the acid the room had been expanded by a foot in all directions and everything within was melted."

There were horrified noises from all of the students, every house was now grouped around the Gryffindor table, as they imagined what happened. Two dear friends working on a cure. The sudden explosion of the faulty potion. Being covered with the substance and then suddenly finding themselves in agony as the acid ate through them so fast that they could do nothing to save themselves. Several girls broke down in tears. Hermione looked saddened.

"So this isn't the same Cassiopeia then..."

"Maybe, maybe not." Draco said with a frown. "I always thought something was off about that story and so did mother. The accident happened barely a week after her family had announced an arranged marriage to a man four times her age. The whole thing was rather suspicious, but those who thought so had no way to trace her friends wand as they were adults. If they had actually PLANNED the explosion then it was a brilliant move. The whole of the wizarding world saw it as a tragedy, but it could have very well been the greatest bit of trickery of that century. That is why we need the blood test."

He pointed back at the Granger family tree and tapped on the name Cassiopeia Black, who married a Thomas Granger. They all looked at where he pointed.

"If this is the same Cassiopeia she would be your Great-Great-Grandmother, and your fathers Great-Grandmother. We can confirm with absolute certainty as to what happened by having the goblins test your fathers blood."

Everyone sat in silence as they looked over the tree and contemplated Draco's words. It was truly an amazing situation, especially if the blood relation was confirmed. One it would prove what had happened concerning a rather questionable death of a budding Potions Mistress and two; it would throw the wizarding world on it's head concerning muggleborn relations and Pure Blood sentiment. Things would have quieted down, as people were starting to focus again on their food, but Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and got Harry's attention and handed him a package which was obviously a broom.

"I want this back by the end of the year Mr. Potter. I am only letting you borrow my broom, Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Harry responded with a grin and looked up at her in gratitude. The students all started whispering to each other in shock and curiosity.

"I've reserved the pitch at seven for an hour Harry!" Oliver called.

"Seven for an hour? I know when to release you then, dear Harry."

Harry froze at the tone from his Imaginary. Everyone noticed that he had suddenly gone pale and watched as he slowly turned his head to look at her. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a single brow raised. No emotion showed on her face but her eyes were glinting like steel. Harry gulped.

"I told you no exploring dear Harry, did you truly believe I was not watching you?"

"But!...I...I just...!" Those around him stared as he talked to what was to them empty air, though they all knew who was supposed to be there.

She reached forward suddenly and grabbed his right ear. He yelped as she gave a tug forcing him to his feet by the grip. He barely managed to keep hold of the packaged broom as she dragged him from the Great Hall. The entire Hall went silent and Harry could see Draco, Ron and several others wincing in sympathy as he was dragged off by the invisible force that was his Imaginary.

"That's not good..." Ron said with wide eyes as Harry was dragged off. Draco and Hermione nodded in agreement with the red-head.

"Headmaster should I...?" Professor McGonagall started hesitantly.

/*/*-**-/*/**-*-/*/*

Harry was sulking. He'd been embarrassed in front of _everyone _because of Beth and he was feeling quite upset about it.

"Why?! Why did you grab me like that in front of _EVERYONE_?!" He shouted at her when they finally got to the tower and she let him go with a shove onto his bed.

"Would you rather I spank you?" She asked in an amused tone that he took offense to.

"YES!" he shouted.

"Then this is the more effective punishment. A little embarrassment to keep you in line, yes? Perhaps you will listen to my orders next time, hmm?" She replied calmly.

He'd ranted, raved and threw pillows at her, which she dodged, but finally he collapsed onto the bed with a huff burying his face in his remaining pillow. He could feel her hand running through his hair but didn't have the energy to push her away.

"Wanting to explore when you aren't in trouble and before curfew is one thing, but I told you that you were grounded and you went against my orders and went out anyway. If you had waited, and planned more appropriately with Draco, you could have had your celebration party this weekend without any misadventures."

"Did you know I was gone from the beginning?" He said with a grumble.

"No dear Harry, I did not. Not until I heard Peeves shouting and went to check on you. I watched as you and your friends rushed in and I overheard about the dog."

"Yeah, about that dog," Harry said sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. "it had three heads!"

"A Cerberus, and a relatively young one at that."

"YOUNG?!" Harry squeaked in shock. "It'll get bigger?!"

"Not by much." Beth laughed at his expression. "It is an adolescent, almost fully grown. It will grown perhaps another foot in height. I would leave it be though."

"But the trap door, what is it protecting?"

"Leave it." Beths voice was firm and Harry let it go, for the moment. He opened up his textbooks and started in on his homework. It had taken him a while but he was finally used to using a quill, though he did end up with quite a few ink stains on his fingers. Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville came in a little while later and were talking excitedly about the events in the Main Hall. They tried to pull Harry into the conversation a time or two but Beth quickly signaled each time for him to focus on his homework. He gave an apologetic look to the other boys letting them know he had to work on his homework and they could talk about it later. They then switched to talk about Quidditch. Thankfully time passed quickly for Harry and Oliver came to grab him just before seven.

"Ahem." Oliver cleared his throat nervously glancing around a moment before focusing on Harry.

"I'm here to start you on your Seeker training Harry. You good to go?"

Harry glanced to Beth who nodded. He grinned at Oliver and nodded his head quickly packing up his homework being mindful of the drying ink. Oliver was smiling in relief and led the younger boy down to the Quidditch pitch. Harry learned about the different player positions one Keeper, two Beaters, three Chasers and Harry's position, Seeker. He learned about the different balls used the Quaffle, used by the Chasers for scoring through one of three hoops that the Keeper guarded. The two Bludgers that the Beaters used to try to knock the other team players off their brooms, the Gryffindor Beaters were the Weasley twins. Harry found that the Bludgers themselves would fling themselves around trying to hit players anyway and were charmed to go at anyone wearing a Quidditch uniform, hence there should be no danger to the crowd from a bludger. Beth issued a question about lethal injuries which Harry parroted to Oliver. Oliver was proud to announce that Hogwarts had never had a fatality, though admittedly they'd had plenty of concussions and broken bones.

The final ball was the one Oliver told him to focus on The Golden Snitch. It was small and looked to be made of gold, was roughly the size of a walnut and had small silvery wings that beat at the rate of a hummingbird wings. Harry was fascinated with the little thing. Catching the Snitch was worth a whooping hundred and fifty points. Oliver said it was too dark to try to practice with the Snitch but had Harry go up on the broom and threw small white golf balls at random. Harry'd asked if golf was a sport wizards played and got a negative response. It had been a muggleborn captains idea to purchase and use golf balls for a Seekers practice. Once practice was done and they were heading back in Harry also asked if they had any reserve team mates and was surprised at the negative response.

"Remember Harry, Bludgers are spelled to go after anyone in an officially spelled quidditch uniform."

"Then why not have the reserve team off out of uniform?" Harry asked curiously. "If they aren't in the uniform then the Bludger wont go after them, right?"

"True, we tried that though. Had the uniforms on a table. Bludgers go after the uniforms though so..." Oliver trailed off to let Harry figure out the 'why'.

"Oh, so the Bludgers hit the table?" Harry said thoughtfully.

"Yep."

"Well...There is a barrier to keep the balls within the Quidditch pitch itself right? Why not keep the table outside the barrier?"

"Barrier goes out a little too far for that option to be practical." He pointed to the stands. "The barrier actually goes out to include the stands. Many a Seeker has had to dive under the stands to go after the snitch. So it would take time to catch the bludgers so that the relief could get to the table, then get back to field safely. We wouldn't be able to leave off catching both Bludgers as the relief coming in could get hit, had that happen once and it can take a while to corral the bludgers. Mind you, the longest game of Quidditch lasted almost three months on the fact that they needed to keep calling in relief players but the barriers keeping the balls from escaping didn't cover the stands at that game like ours do so they didn't have the same problem we do."

"Why not modify the barrier?" Harry asked tilting his head.

"Asked that. The barriers are so old that it would take the staff half a year to take them down, which would mean no Quidditch for that year. The Headmaster called a vote by the students and everyone, especially the seventh years, agreed that they didn't want to go a year without Quidditch."

Harry nodded solemnly as they walked back up to the tower, Beth following along at Harry's side. She patted his arm gently as he laid down for bed and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Good ideas Harry."

"useless ideas." He said in a disappointed tone.

"Indeed, but you were looking at ways to help your team. It's always good to try to think of new ways to do things."

/*/*-*-/*/*-**-/*/*

Time flew by so quickly after that, that Harry was surprised to realize that it had been two months. It was October the 31st and everyone was excited about the Halloween Feast that would happen that night after classes. Things seemed to be going well that day until Charms class. Professor Flitwick was having them learn a charm to make objects fly that day and would be practicing on a feather.

Harry was fascinated with the concept and was sitting next to Seamus. The Professor walked them through the motions of the charm first for several long minutes before finally telling them the words for the spell, 'windgarium leviosa'.

For a lot of them nothing happened right away. Seamus was impatient and poked his feather with his wand tip, setting it on fire. It took a few moments to put it out, Harry using his wizards hat, but they had the fire dealt with without having to call over the professor. Ron wasn't having any luck either and kept waiving his arm in exaggerated movements.

"Windgardium Leviosa!" he shouted. Hermione next to him huffed slightly.

"You're saying it wrong," she snapped at the red-head. "it's 'Win-GAR-dium Levi-O-sa', you have to make the 'Gar' nice and long.

"YOU do it then if you're so clever!"

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her robes, accepting the Red-heads challenge and whipped out her wand.

"Wingardium leviosa!" she said firmly with the proper swish and flick of her wand. Their feather rose a good four feet off of the desk. The Professor was quite pleased with the results and praised Hermione accordingly. Ron was livid.

"No wonder people can't stand her," he said to Harry as they left the class. "she's a ruddy know-it-all, an absolute nightmare!"

Hermione pushed back both boys and Harry spared a look of surprise at Ron.

"She heard you, you know."

"So?" Ron snapped.

"She's our friend, why'd you have to say that."

"'Cause it's true! You notice we're the only ones she hangs out with. And she's YOUR friend, not mine. I just...put up with her...yeah." Ron didn't sound very convincing at the last.

Harry had sighed and had tried to find Hermione. Instead he found her room mates Lavender and Parvati. Hermione was in the girls room, crying no thanks to Ron, and wanted to be left alone, or else. He imagined the 'or else' was primarily meant for Ron and would involve hexes. Not wanting to risk his friends wrath though he decided to find her later to apologize for Ron's behaviour and his own lack of standing up for her sooner.

Harry let his worries go for the moment as they entered the Great Hall. The ceiling had a partly cloudy sky with a full moon. There were a dozen or more live bats flying about. Carved Jack-O-Lanterns replaced the candles that evening and Harry smiled in amazement at the sight. Everyone was already enjoying the wonderful food that appeared on the table and Harry rushed to join Ron and Neville. Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell burst into the Great Hall, the doors banging loudly and causing everyone to fall silent. He reached the Headmaster and despite his frantic gasps for breath his voice was able to carry through the silent Hall.

"Troll!...in the dungeons...thought...you ought to know..."

He then fell in a dead faint in front of the staff table. Those in the Hall started to panic, Beth, ducking and dodging students made her way to Harry's side and forced him back into his seat. Several bright purple firecrackers later, courtesy of the Headmasters wand, calmed people down enough to listen.

"Prefects! Lead your Houses back to the Dormitories immediately!"

Percy immediately called for the attention of the Gryffindor House and they started to get organized. Harry frowned a bit knowing he was forgetting something. A glance to Draco caused his eyes to widen in realisation and he jumped on the table looking over to the staff table where Professor Snape was trying to reassure his own still panicking Prefects.

"Headmaster!" Harry shouted. Harry frowned when he realised he couldn't be heard over the din of noise. He felt Beth's hand close around his own and a pull from his core and then felt a pulse of magic around his throat. He looked at her and she smiled signaling for him to try again.

"Headmaster!" His shout rang through the hall this time and everyone paused to look at Harry.

"Yes Mr. Potter?" Professor Dumbledore said with a blink of surprise at his use of what appeared to be the Sonorous Charm.

"The Slytherin dorm is IN the dungeons!" Harry said, worry in his voice.

Harry saw Professor Snape, who'd been trying to push his way past the other Professors to the Headmasters side, pause and look to Harry with a bit of shock before his face went blank once more. The Headmasters face in comparison went blank for a moment before realization flashed and he looked suitably abashed. He moved to talk to Professor Snape and Professor Sprout quietly before finally turning to make another announcement.

"I do very much apologize to our Slytherin students. If all Slytherin students could make their way to the Hufflepuff dorms where Professor Sprout will be happy to house you until the danger has passed."

Danger averted Harry sighed in relief and was helped down from the table by the Weasley twins. Harry thanked them and ran to catch up with Ron and Neville.

"I wonder how a troll got in." Harry said to the other two.

"No idea, their supposed to be really stupid." Ron said with a shrug as they started up the stairs.

"Maybe Peeves let him in?" Neville said. "Oh I need to check on Trevor!"

Neville ran ahead of the two boys and they quickly lost sight of him. They shared a bemused look.

"Ya know, he's always loosing track of that toad of his."

"You ever see what kind of toad it is?" Harry asked.

"Nah, never seen it." Ron shrugged. "It's just a toad anyway. Nothing special."

"You'd be surprised how nifty they can look...OH!" Harry froze his eyes wide and he frantically looked around. Beth paused beside the two boys with a frown. She was about to ask when Harry saved her the need to by grabbing Ron's arm and hissing to him.

"Hermione!"

"What about her?" Ron asked with a glare trying to shake off Harry's rather tight grip.

"She doesn't know about the troll!"

Ron bit his lip and then sighed.

"Alright but we better not get caught."

Harry nodded to him and rushed off toward the girls bathroom with Ron and Beth on his heels. She too looked worried about their young friend. They blended in with the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins until they reached a deserted corridor and darted down toward the girls room. They realised they suddenly had an tag along and Harry glanced over his shoulder to see Draco catching up with them.

"Where are you too idiots going?!" He asked with a huff of breath.

"Hermione, she's in the girls room." Harry said. "She doesn't know 'bout the troll!"

"You bloody idiots! Didn't you think about getting a teacher?!" Draco braked and waved his hands at the two before turning and running the way they just came, he shouted back at them. "If you want to be typical Gryffindors and run into danger that's your business. I'm doing the SMART thing and getting Professor Snape!"

"Ruddy coward!" Ron growled as they continued on. Harry didn't have the heart to disagree with him, he knew Draco was right, getting a teacher would be best, but had the worst feeling that if they didn't continue they would be too late.

"Beth! Run ahead will you? Your faster then us! If you need to pull on my magic then DO IT!"

Beth nodded and with a burst of speed darted ahead of the two boys and to the girls room. They realized there was another set of footsteps behind them and ducked out of sight for a moment. They blinked in surprise at seeing Professor Snape enter the hall from a side path and was headed up to the forbidden third corridor in a hurry.

"What is he doing?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Search me." Ron replied.

Harry started to move after the professor but Ron held up his hand.

"You smell that?"

Harry sniffed at the air and wrinkled his nose. It was a horrible scent like rotten eggs and smelly socks and used gym shorts all rolled into one. For a moment he thought he would be ill but then the sight of the creature chased off such thoughts. The beast was huge, almost twelve feet in height and it was all lumpy like a large boulder. It was a granite gray and was dragging a huge club behind it that scraped ominously on the stone floor. The beast paused at the entrance to a room and after a few long moments it ducked down to enter said room.

"I don't believe it, look the key's in the lock!" Ron whispered to Harry.

"Lets try to lock it in, quick, then we can find Hermione!"  
Harry and Ron snuck over to the door carefully, doing their best to keep to the shadows.  
Harry reached a shaking hand to grab the doorknob and slammed the door shut turning the key. The boys backed away from the door and grinned at each other for their success, the grin faded when Harry saw Beth's head peek through the wall of the room and look around frantically. She saw Ron and Harry and that Harry was holding the key. She cursed.

"Harry! Unlock the door! Hermione is in here!" she yelled at the startled boy before ducking back into the room.

Harry blinked and looked up at the sign above the door. With a yelp he ran back to the door fumbling with the key just as Hermione's scream echoed.

"Blimey! That's the girls room!" Ron shouted. He rushed over and picked caught the key as Harry dropped it, pushed it into the lock and turned the key. Both boys rushed inside wands drawn but Harry stumbled as he felt the sudden wrench on his magical core. He watched in fear as the troll's club passed right through Beth and toward Hermione when a shield suddenly appeared around Hermione who was trying under the sinks. The club bounced off the shield and both Beth and Harry staggered at the sudden drain needed to keep it up. The trolls club struck several of the other sinks and porcelain chunks went flying.

"Distract it!" Harry cried to Ron as he picked up a faucet handle and chucked it at the trolls ugly head.

Between the two boys they managed to keep the beast back and away from Hermione. Harry kept trying to get her attention as they were, just barely, keeping the door clear for her to make a run but she seemed to be frozen in terror. Beth he saw couldn't lower the shield as the trolls club often flailed back toward where Hermione was. Harry could feel the constant drain on his core and felt himself growing tired. Harry growled softly, pulling on a strength he didn't realize he had to run forward and jump. He used one of the undamaged sinks to rebound off of and onto the hunched over form of the troll. He managed, just barely, to wrap his arms around the beasts thick neck. He didn't really realise as he jumped that his wand was angled just right to go up the trolls nose when he latched on.

The beast howled in pain and started flailing wildly about trying to dislodge Harry. He clung desperately to the beasts neck barely registering Beths cries of worry and Hermione's yells of fear. He didn't even truly register Ron's shout of 'Wingardium Leviosa!' which caught the trolls club and raised it out of its grip. The spell held long enough for the club to raise to the ceiling before failing and clobbering the troll on the head. It stumbled a bit before falling to the ground out cold, Harry rolling off the beast and coming to a stop against the wall. He looked tiredly at his poor wand covered in troll boogies and tried to clean it off using the puddles of water surrounding him. Beth dropped the shield and moved over to him as Ron helped Hermione to her feet.

"Harry can you hear me?"

Harry nodded with a faint, dazed smile. Beth let out a relieved sigh and hugged him tight. Suddenly Professors Mcgonagall, Snape and Quirrell burst into the room wands drawn. Professor Quirrell took one look at the troll and slipped to the ground with a whimper, clutching at his chest.

Professor Snape bent over the troll, looking it over and checking if it was still alive. Professor McGonagall was looking over Harry, Ron and Hermione with pursed white lips. Harry tried to smiled weakly at her while he was still caught in Beth's arms, his head against her shoulder. He imagined he looked quite odd leaning forward against nothing without falling over and had to bite back a giggle.

"What on earth were you thinking!?" Professor McGonagall said, cold fury in her voice. "You could have been killed! Why were you not with the rest of your house?!"

"Please Professor...it's my fault." Hermione's voice was soft as a mouses as she moved over to the teachers. "I thought...I could handle the troll, 'cause...I've read all about them and their weaknesses and everything!" Ron dropped his wand, Beth and the Professors raised a brow and Harry's mouth dropped in surprise. Hermione...just LIED...to a TEACHER?! Harry thought to himself.

"Brave girl," Beth said softly and Harry nodded in response.

"They found me, if they hadn't I'd be dead. Harry stuck his wand up his nose and Ron levitated the club up to drop it on the trolls head."

Professors' Snape and McGonagall shared a look before shrugging and turning back to the young girl.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I am VERY disappointed that you would think to fight a troll on your own instead of following instructions laid out for YOUR safety. Get back to the tower at once."

Hermione nodded shakily and left at an almost run. Professor McGonagall then rounded on the two boys as Harry got to his feet.

"You two are very lucky to be alive. Not many your age face a grown troll and live to tell the tale. I will issue five points each and a firm warning, next time you figure out that a student has separated from the rest, follow your friend Mr. Malfoys example...AND GET A TEACHER...understood?"

Both nodded quickly, Harry didn't even have the strength to try to argue about his 'bad feeling'. They were sent up to the dorm and trudged their way up the stairs, Ron keeping hold of Harry's arm as he had almost fallen over a time or two due to the magical drain. Hermione was waiting for them just inside and it was a few moments before they all suddenly curst out with a 'thank you' and then Ron managed, blushing, to mutter an apology to Hermione for upsetting her. She smiled slightly, accepting the apology and although Harry just wanted to sleep Beth herded him toward the others and to the food that had been delivered to the dorms. She made him eat and then carefully guided him up to his bed where he promptly passed out, grateful to be alive and that he and Ron were in time to save their friend.

*/*-/-/*/**-*-/*/*

It never made sense to me why Hogwarts didn't have a relief team for each house and yet the big leagues had a game that lasted 3 months only because they had relief. I hope my explanation for the cannon oddity made sense!

Also thank you again for all the reviews. I hope you enjoyed Ms. Black's story and my rendition of the troll attack. Ron always can be a bit of a prat, he learns, but he has foot-in-mouth syndrome waaaay too often.


	13. Chapter 13

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Fixing a few typos :)  
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Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

Alright reviews!

ChrisW96003: Thank you for alerting me to the typo. I do very much appreciate it!

mizzrazz72: Secrets can hurt indeed. Hopefully not too much. We'll see how things go :)

NatWest: Thank you so much for the encouragement :)

RandomRunner14: All in all his sight is a bit of a concern that never made sense. JK never really specified and it seems he may have poor sight all together. He has better glasses NOW than what he did in the book, and I have plans for later anyway regarding his sight anyway. :D

DoctorWho41: First of all Hello Fellow Whovian! The first relation has been revealed and I do hope you enjoyed Ms. Blacks' story! The other relation will be revealed later :D

Monbade: I hear you. Pansy is a bit of a...well...I'll keep things polite and not say anything :P

excalibur's fire: Long review! I do appreciate it and I am very glad you enjoyed the background I created for Ms. Black.

Thank you all for your kind reviews! please keep them coming!

/*/*/*/*/*/**/

Chapter 13: Fly like it's Quidditch

Harry had ended up very sluggish over the next few days after the adventure with the troll, to the point where he almost fell asleep in his potions cauldron. Only Professor Snape's dedication 'to maintaining a fatality free class' saved Harry from drowning in his cauldron. Harry was carted off to the infirmary where Madam Pompfry gave him a Pepper-up Potion that caused steam to blow out his ears to his amusement. A few flicks of her wand later and she frowned at him, weird glowing runes appearing over his body. He tried to poke at one only to have her swat his hand away.

"Mr. Potter, what in the world were you doing that drained your core so much?" She'd asked in amazement.

He'd then explained what Beth had done with the shield and Madam Pompfry had looked both suitably amazed at the power needed to maintain a high level spell and suitably annoyied at the drain done to his still developing core. She'd then demanded if Beth was present and when given a well meaning affermative she proceeded a lecture that had his Imaginary jumping from angry, indignant, embaressed, proud and mortified and Harry was either too busy muffling his laughter or shell-shocked at the level of harshness that the lecture flared to.

To put it in simple terms the shield that Beth had created to protect Hermione had been a full 'orb' shield that would not be taught until seventh year. No first year should be able to cast such a spell without significantly draining, if not out right causing permanent damage to their core. While Beth could draw on Harry's core to use the spells and abilities she knew with minimal draw on him, using high level spells could hinder the growth of his core. Harry quickly defended his Imaginary at the last, saying it was needed otherwise Hermione could have been hurt not just by the trolls club, but by the debris that were flying around the room. Madam Pompfry allowed for the necessity of the spell but gave firm instruction to both Harry and his imaginary to minimize spell work for several days so his core could recover and gave him a note for his classes excusing him from all spell work for at least two days.

He took the time during classes to work on his practical understanding of spells, to work on his essays and to study the rules for Quidditch. He was still able to practice his flying skills and Oliver took him to the pitch as often as he could to get him used to trying to catch the snitch while avoiding Oliver and the Twins who acted the part of the distractions Harry might face on the field such as bludgers or other players. Harry learned that out of all the players Seekers got fouled the most since the game could hinge on catching the snitch.

Harry was especially greatful to Hermione for letting him borrow Quidditch Through the Ages and spent time reading through it. A few days before the match he, Ron, Hermione and Draco were all out in the freezing courtyard looking over the book. Hermione had conjured a blue flame and stored it into a jam jar to help keep the four warm. Beth had climbed up a nearby tree and was looking around carefully. She wouldn't tell Harry but he had a feeling that she had figured out what the Cerberus was there for as she tried to stay as close to him as possible since the troll incident.

"Enjoy your time with your friends dear Harry, leave the Mystery of the Cerberus to the teachers." She'd told him, and wouldn't speak of it further.

Now though the four were talking about some of the dangers inherent in quidditch and some tips and tricks from Draco that he was willing to share to stay on his broom. They saw Professor Snape crossing the yard with a limp and each one carefully moved at Draco's direction to hide the blue flame.

"That's a second year spell." Draco hissed softly to the group as they shuffled into place. "Hermione you're good but Professor Snape and several others are really strict about learning magic too fast."

"That's just silly." Hermione said, she was quite proud she had been able to cast the Bluebell Flame spell.

"Not really, learned from Madame Pompfry that if you use a 'high level' spell before your 'core' is ready that you can hurt yourself or at least hurt your 'cores' growth." Harry whispered to the bushy haired girl. "She got really mad cause of the shield spell Beth and I made to protect you. Seventh year spell equivalent she said, could have really stunted my 'cores' growth."

Hermione looked like she wanted to ask more questions about 'cores' but Professor Snape was on top of them. He looked them over sternly and then his eyes narrowed.

"What have you got there Mr. Potter?"

Harry held out the book so the Professor could see. Snape reached over and tapped on the symbol at the top right corner marking the book as a library book and then yanked the book from Harry's hand.

"Library books are not to be taken outside of the school building. Five points from Gryffindor, and I should take more." He glared at both Hermione and Draco. "BOTH of you know this rule!"

He then stalked off and Ron looked fit to blow.

"Stupid git! Why didn't you get any points taken Draco?!" Ron snapped at the blonde.

"I wasn't the one with the book." Draco sighed softly. "Not exactly fair I know, but the rule is that the STUDENT caught in POSSESION of the book gets points taken. So if I had been holding it I would have had the points taken. He favors Slytherin, it's true, but he is big on respect for books and potions supplies. You should have heard how nasty he got with a first year Hufflepuff for dogearing a Library potions book and that's not including the lecture she got from Madam Pince the librarian!"

They all gave a shudder at the thought of incurring the librarian's wrath. With how strict the woman was with loud noises and the like they could well imagine how she would get if her precious books were damaged by a student. Harry sighed softly and looked to Hermione.

"Let me try to get the book back from him since it's checked out under your name." He said.

They all agreed to meet back near the library itself since Draco didn't dare go near Gryffindor tower. 'Are you crazy?!' He'd all but shouted. 'Put myself in the line-of-fire of the Twins?!' They'd all agreed that the library would be a neutral ground to meet at. Harry then hurried off to try to find Professor Snape, Beth on his heels.

He made his way to the Staff room and knocked on the door. After a few moments he knocked again and then sighed, thinking he might have missed the Professor. He started to reach to open the door and Beth caught his hand. She poked her head through the door then pulled back abruptly long enough to smack her head against the wall and then looked back in and stayed there for a long moment before pulling back with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Professor Snape leg is injured, he's having Filch help change the bandages."

"He was going up the Forbidden Corridor the other day!" Harry said with wide eyes and then he bolted back the other way and rushed to the library. Beth called after him but he didn't stop. He came to a halt in front of the others panting heavily. Beth caught up to him and he glared at her for not being winded. She looked a bit annoiyed but he ignored her and turned to the others.

"Did you get it?" Ron asked with a blink.

Harry shook his head and explained what Beth had told him and what he and Ron had seen the night of the troll attack.

"He tried to get past the dog that's the only thing that makes sense! Why else would the beast have bitten him?" Harry said in a furious yet confused whisper. "He might be trying to steal whatever is hidden there but that doesn't make sense either!"

"Why not? He's a greasy git!" Ron said and Draco cuffed his ear. "What was that for?"

"Keep your voice down before Madam Pince hears you for one, and for two, that's my Godfather your insulting." Draco hissed at the redhead. Harry looked amused for a moment before looking pensive.

"'Cause I was told I could trust him Ron." Harry said softly.

"Trust him?" Ron said in surprise. "No way!"

Hermione cuffed him this time and shushed him before responding in a whisper.

"He's a teacher, of course we can trust him. If Headmaster Dumbledore is hiding something then maybe Professor Snape was just making sure it was okay but got caught off guard?"

Draco and Harry were nodding slowly at the thought while Ron just threw up his arms in frustration.

"Hermione you think all teachers are saints and can't ever be bad. What I want to know is WHAT the heck that dog is protecting!"

They shared thoughtful looks and then sighed. Harry frowned and then looked over at Beth hopefully.

"I told you Dear Harry, you need to leave this alone." Her voice was stern and she wagged a finger at him.

"I'm just worried Beth. Something bad is going on, I can feel it! Like with Hermione, it's why I didn't follow Draco when he went to get a Professor. I knew we didn't have the time, letting Draco get someone was better."

"Indeed dear Harry, the closer we are the better I am able to draw on your core. And even if you hadn't inadvertently locked the door on the poor girl the troll had made it's way to find her anyway" She sighed softly. "Try to leave this alone though Harry. Now we need to get back. Curfew soon."

He turned to the others and they all agreed to let it go for the moment. There was nothing they could do without more information anyway.

*-*-/*/**-*-/*/**-*-/*/*

The first game of the year happened Saturday and the match was Slyhterin vs. Gryffindor. Draco and Harry weren't allowed near each other the day before and the day of the match, any time they tried to meet up, even to discuss the squib/muggleborn project of theirs, their team Captains would zoom in on them like hawks and separate them with vicious attitude. Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood could get quite creative with their ability to insult without seeming to insult while there were teachers around and Harry found himself suitably impressed despite himself as he was dragged unwillingly away from his friend.

Wood tried to give this big speech that he apparently gave every year he'd been Captain only to be interuppted at every turn by each of the other players, especially the twins. Harry found it amusing and it helped to relieve some of the tension coiled within him. He made his way out to the field with the others. Madam Hooch was going to referree this match. She said something about a fair game and had the Captains shake hands. To Harry's surprise they did, though they had sickly smiles and their hands were white making him think they were trying to break the others hand. Finally they both let go at the same time at some sort of signal he couldn't catch and they all mounted their brooms.

Harry and Draco circled above the rest of the players trying to stay out of the way of the bludgers. They shared a grim smile and kept an eye out for the snitch while watching each other to see if the other saw it. Several times Harry almost fell for Draco's feints, random dives toward the stands or shooting up into the air several feet before leveling back out.

Harry tuned out the crowd and the enthusiastic commentator. He tried to keep the other players in sight and had to dodge a bludger a few times. He thought he'd caught sight of the Snitch at one point but it was just a reflection from one of the Twins watches, he decided he needed to talk to them about not wearing the bloodly thing during a match. He frowned a bit and rubbed at one eye. He was straining his perphrial vision and would end up with a headache because of it and tried to look around constantly through his glasses instead of the corner of his eyes which was harder to do then he thought.

He blinked rapidily for a moment as he looked around and then went still for a brief instant before he dived toward the stands after the snitch which was hovering above Professor McGonagall and Lee Jordan. Draco saw his dive and soon they were side by side hands extended. Professor McGonagall let out a shout and grabbed Lee forcing them both down as the boys swooped over them intent on catching the snitch. Harry suddenly felt as if he'd been hit by a freight train as he struggled to get back onto his broom. He shook his head as he remounted and looked around thinking he'd been hit by a bludger. Instead he saw Draco yelling at his Captain. Flying a bit closer he caught some of Draco's words.

"...don't care if you were trying to stop Potter! You hit ME as well! Be more careful next time or you will hear from my father!"

Harry blinked as Flint flew off grumbling. Gryffindor got the penalty and Harry and Draco watched several feet from each other as the Gryfinndor team scored easily.

"Hey Draco?" Harry said looking around and trying to catch sight of the snitch again.

"Yeah?" The other boy responded also looking around.

"Why would you bring your dad into things?"

"'Cause people listen if I threaten to call him."

"So they respect your dad. That doesn't mean they respect you."

"Pardon?" Draco said stiffly, looking at Harry with fire in his eyes.

"Well wouldn't it be better for them to respect you because of YOU and YOUR actions and not your dad? I want people to respect me for MY actions not 'cause I'm the bloody 'boy-who-lived'" Harry said with a slightly bitter tone.

"Well...I guess." Draco said with a frown.

Harry started to say more only to almost be bucked from his broom. He let out a yelp of shock and managed to keep hold. The broom was still for another moment and then bucked again but as he was prepared for it he was able to stay on. Draco was looking at him oddly as he tried to stear for Madam Hooch who was refering the game only to find that his broom wouldn't go the way he wanted. Instead of going down and forward he was going up and backwards. The broom gave another lurch that flipped him upside down and Draco started yelling for Madam Hooch. Harry tuned everything out, the yelling crowd, Draco's calls for help, the Twins trying to fly below him ready to catch him at a moments notice and Beth below ready and waiting to attempt to call on his core to catch him. He held on tight, his heart beating rapidly as he hung upside down. He noticed that each time one of the Twins tried to fly to grab him the broom would fly higher. He growled softly and decided to try something absolutely silly. He willed the broom to fly backwards two feet and held on tight.

He shot forward by about four feet but the important thing was that HE MOVED FORWARD! He gave a grim smile as he thanked video games for figuring out what to do. Whatever was going on with his broom was causing it to do the opposite of what he wanted. He took a moment to focus on the broom, he wanted it to go UP, really really FAST while bucking wildly about with him upsidedown. His broom in turn straightened out with him upright and then started to lower toward the ground very slowly without any wild bucking, although he was spinning back and forth he could handle that. He'd gone down only three feet when his broom suddenly shot up again and he yelped.

"STOP!" he shouted at the broom squezing his eyes shut.

To his surprise the broom jerked to a stop and he opened his eyes slowly. He was well above the field. He gulped and carefully tried to guide his broom forward by instructing it to go backward only to find his broom going backwards. Hope filled him as he started forward again and he tried simple left and right turns. The Twins flew up briefly to check on him and the game started again in earnest with Harry diving down after the snitch which had flown teasingly underneath him. Draco noticed Harrys sudden dive and launched himself after his friend.  
A bludger tore its way between the boys sending them both sprialing and as they spun Harry let out a yell that was cut off by the sensation of something flying into his mouth and he choked. Several feet above the ground Harry slipped from his broom and landed, he rolled to his feet heaving as he felt a fluttering sensation stuck in his throat. Beth rushed over and pounded his back a few times and then he finally coughed up the snitch into his hand. He held up his hand weakly and the crowd went silent before bursting into cheers.

"Only you dear Harry," Beth said as she gave him a relieved hug. "only you."

()_*)()/*/*-)_+)_+*-/*-/*-

Hermione and Ron rushed over telling him that Hagrid was expecting them and he called back to Draco who was currently yelling at his Captain to the amusement of the rest of the Slytherin team. A first year yelling at a fifth year that was built like troll was quite the sight.

"Hey Draco! Meet up with us at Hagrids'!"

"See ya there Potter!" Draco called before turning back to his Captain. "And further more if you are going to hit a bludger at the enemy seeker MAKE SURE YOUR OWN SEEKER ISN'T IN THE LINE OF FIRE! Next time you do that I will Levitate you to the Ceiling of the Gryffidor Common Room without your ROBES!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed away from the group biting back their laughter at the ridiculiousness of the situation. They knocked on Hagrid's door and was let in by the gentle half-giant. He had a pot of strong tea steaping for them and several of his rockcakes ready as well. Ron and Hermione suddenly looked very serious as they waited for the tea to finish.

"It was Snape." Ron said softly. "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broom, muttering and not breaking eye contact."

Harry stared at Ron in shock. He looked to Hermione who was nodding and then looked to Beth who was frowning thoughtfully. Hagrid had caught Ron's statement as well.

"Rubbish!" He said. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harry and his friends shared a look and then all looked back to Hagrid.

"We found out something about him. On Halloween, Ron and I saw him heading up to the Forbidden Corridor. We found out he'd gotten bitten by the three-headed dog. We think he might have been trying to steal it or maybe check up on it, but if he was checking up on it we can't figure out why the dog bit him."

Hagrid dropped the teapot on the table with a clatter and only quick movement by Hermione saved the teapot from spilling. There was a slight knock at the door and Draco slipped inside and sat beside Harry while Hagrid stuttered for a moments trying to talk.

"How do you know 'bout Fluffy!?" Hagrid finally cried out.

"Fluffy?!" Harry, Ron and Hermione asked with amazement.

"Wait, what did I miss? Fluffy? Who's Fluffy?" Draco said looking between his friends and the half-giant.

"Yeah, Fluffy, he's mine. Bought him off of a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year. Leant him to Dumbledore to guard the..."

Harry caught Beth facepalming from where she was standing by the fire.

"Yes?" Harry asked. "Guard the...?"

"Now, don't ask me any more." Hagrid said in a gruff tone. "That's top secret, that is!"

"Is he serious?" Draco whispered to Harry. "'Top secret'?"

Harry waved a hand at Draco to shush him for the moment and he kept his gaze on Hagrid. "But we're worried Professor Snape is trying to steal it. Why else would...Fluffy...have bitten him?"

"Rubbish," Hagrid said as he looked at the four students. "'Fessor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher! He'd do nothin' o' the sort!"

"So why did he just try to kill Harry?" Hermione said in a dark voice.

"WHAT?!" Draco shouted in shock. Everyone was looking at Hermione at that point even Beth and Fang.

"I know a Jinx when I see one Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all!"

Draco look fit to blow and was about to light in on Hermione when Hagrid's voice filled the small hut.

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" His voice was hot with anger at the accusation. "I don' know why Harry's broom was actin' like that but 'Fessor Snape wouldn' try an' student! Now you listen to me...all of ya!" Draco tried to say something only to fall silent at Hagrid's glare. "Yer meddlin' in dangerous things, things tha' don' concern yeh! You forget that dog an' you forget 'bout what it's guardin'! That's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel..."

"Aha!" Harry shouted as Beth turned to bang her head against the wall. "So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looked fit to burst and chased the four out of his hunt constantly muttering 'shouldna said that, shouldna said that." as he slammed the door on them. Beth walked out looking annoyed and thawked Harry upside the head causing him to yelp. As he was about to snap at her Draco rounded on Hermione with rage in his eyes.

"'I know a Jinx when I see one.' she says." He snapped in a mocking tone. "'I've read all about them'" she says." Hermione started to puff up to defend herself when Draco poked his finger against her chest. "Stupid Know-It-All knows NOTHING! Or did you happen to forget reading about COUNTER jinxes? WELL?! Have you?!"

Hermione started to snap back at Draco before she suddenly seemed to deflate and the went beat red and looked at the ground. She muttered something and Draco poked her again causing her to flinch.

"LOUDER Know-It-All!" Draco snarled.

"'A counter jinx is similar to a jinx as eye contact on the target must be maintained for both to work...'" Hermione voice was soft as she stared at the ground.

"EXACTLY! Next time you go to accuse my GODFATHER of attempted MURDER why don't you keep all of the facts in mind! Did you look for ANYONE ELSE who was maintaining eye contact, HMM?"

She shook her head and looked to be close to tears. Ron moved in front of her and batted Draco's hand away.

"Hey now! Don't go talking to her like that!"

"I'll talk to her how I want! If she's going to inhert the monies and properties of Cassiopeia Black, whose father was brother of Romulus Black, of whom Sirius is descended and Sagatarius Black of whom I'm descended, if she want's to even be a part of the Black family she'd best get it in her head that you don't go accusing someone whose family, or as good as, of murder without proof!

"An' what about your dad?!" Ron shouted. "He was a Death Eater just like Snape!"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and he froze. He'd been about to try to step between the two boys but that information was new to him. His Aunt wanted him to trust one of the people who followed VOldemort?!

"My dad was under the Imperious Curse half the time you NITWIT! He had power and influence in the Ministry! Just what You-Know-Who wanted! He came to my father and demanded his help or he would Kill mother who was pregnant with me at the time! And to insure his loyalty after I was born he cursed..." Draco's voice broke and he forced himself to stand straight. "He cursed my mother so bad that she will NEVER have children again! You notice that despite all my dad's spouting of pureblood doctrine that he hasn't divorced mother as would be his right because of her state so he could have more heirs! He loves her! He would do anything for her! Not everyone who was Marked by that...that MONSTER served him willingly! And I REFUSE to believe that kind of evil of my Godfather! And don't think for one MINUTE that we're safe either!"

Ron and Hermione went quiet and Harry moved over to the blonde. He carefully moved to rest his hand on Draco's shoulder and Draco flinched at the touch.

"What do you mean, mate? Why aren't we safe?"

"The Mark." Draco whispered sadly. "The Mark only faded, it's not gone. That kind of Mark is called a 'Kings Mark' it was used in olden days, Merlin cast it for King Arthur so his Knights would know when a meeting of the 'Round was called without having anyone be able to target the group for assaination when they needed to meet in emergencies and it only disappears when the 'king' is well and truly dead. The Mark only faded once when Arthur was put into a magical sleep at one point by Morganna and only by the Mark did they know that they could save him. It was a way of communication and acted as an alert system if any of the Knights or Arthur were in danger. You-Know-Who found out the ritual needed to cast the Mark and twisted it to his uses."

"That the Mark is still visable..." Hermione whispered in awe and fear. "Doesn't the Ministry know?!"

"Minister Fudge knows." Draco hissed. "But Fudge has his head buried in the sand. Only a few people know that the Mark was the Kings Mark and Fudge is one of them. People are happy to believe they are safe."

"What happens..." Harry gulped and looked at his friend with worry. "What happens to you and your family if He does come back?"

"We serve..." Draco said as he looked to his friends. "Even though you're my friends, Real friends, not like Crabbe and Goyle, I'll have to seem to turn against you. If he does come back I WILL distance myself from you so he can't use our friendship against you. He'll kill us all otherwise, and I will do what I must to protect Mother."

Ron looked angry and Harry put his hand on his other friends shoulder to quiet him.

"I understand Draco, I'd do whatever I could to protect my Aunt and cousin, whatever I could to protect you, Ron and Hermione. Even if that does happen though, we are here for you, we are friends and friends don't abandon each other." Harry took a deep breath as he looked at his friends. "I have a secret to share, and this is only because Moldymort might come back." The other three choked in shock and Beth laughed at his cheek at the nickname he came up with. "Draco. Get a pet snake, in fact Professor Snape may still have a garden snake that needs a home and that way if you need to tell me something or warn me about something or that you need help then your snake can let me know." They looked at Harry in confusion and he took a deep breath. "I'm a parselmouth."

Hermione squeaked in shock, Draco's jaw dropped and Ron...Well Harry never expected his mate to faint like Pansy did and barely managed to catch him in time.

/*/*-*-/)_)_/*

Uh-oh, how will Ron react when he wakes up? Let me know what you think!

Hope you enjoyed!

read and review pls!


	14. Chapter 14

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

As a side not this will be the last posted chapter for a week or two. I have a aunt I will be visiting and she doesn't have internet or wifi in her area. I'll still be working on and storing chapters for when I get back to civilization!

Thank you all!

/*/*/*/*/*/**/

Chapter 14: Bloodlines and Christmas Hijinks.

Ron's reaction to Harry being a Parselmouth had been mixed once the red-head woke up from his faint. He'd alternated between accusing Harry of being a Slytherin in Gryffindor colors, creeped out that Harry could talk to the 'slimy animals', at which point Harry, Draco and Hermione both lit in on the boy on the fact that snakes are not slimy and ended when Ron finally fell into a sulk that lasted for days and he refused to talk to any of the others during his sulk.

It worked out well for the other three though as they were working more on the Squib/Muggleborn project. They'd gotten in touch with the other bloodline that she might be related to on her mothers side, but due to the head of that family working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures he would not be able to arrange a meeting for some time yet. Hermione was a bit disappointed at the delay but had gotten a response back from her parents about meeting up at the wizarding bank in order to have their bloodline checked against the Black bloodline and that they were very proud of her work with Harry and Draco, the letter from them cheered her up. They'd apologized that it had taken so long but with their practice it was difficult to arrange a day where they could either close the office or both have the day off.

November Thirtieth was the agreed upon date to meet up with Mr and Mrs. Malfoy at Gringotts and Harry had eagerly written about the situation to his aunt asking her if she and Dudley would be able to come or at the least that he could have permission to go along with Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy as his chaperone'. The letter he'd gotten back had surprised him.

'Dear Harry,

I may not like magic nephew but after hearing about the discord between 'muggleborn' and 'pureblood' wizards and witches I find myself very proud of you for looking for a way to reconcile the differences. From what you have told me about 'Squibs' and their habit of leaving the wizarding world behind and 'going muggle' it seems highly likely that 'Muggleborns' are just the long lost descendents of squibs. I very much would like to be able to witness this momentous event at Gringotts that will show if your dear friend Hermione is really related to this Cassiopeia Black. This is a very big moment Harry as it will be the deciding factor on if your theory is correct or not. Don't get your hopes too high dear, disappointment can be a crippling feeling in one so young, I do know the feeling, so please go into this with a pragmatic heart.

Your theory has gotten me thinking and depending on the results on November Thirtieth I may actually decide to dig through our own family records to see if I can find a 'squib' in our background. To my knowledge magic hadn't appeared in our family until your mother was born. It will be interesting to see and I might very well request a list of wizarding names while we are at this Bank. The goblins aren't too bad are they?

Your Aunt Marge has offered to take the family on a cruise to the Caribbean for Christmas and I was wondering if you would like to go or if you would prefer to stay at the school? There were times where Lily chose to stay behind with friends and I can certainly understand wanting to stay with friends to keep them company. Let me know Saturday alright?

Love,  
Aunt Petunia.

P.S.: You didn't get into trouble with the Seran Wrap did you?'

Harry was quite happy that his Aunt would be there for the event and thoughtful about the cruise. He asked Hermione and Draco if they would be staying and found they had family plans. Ron was still sulking so he questioned the Twins on if they would be staying or not. They would he found out as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be visiting with Charlie this year and all of the Weasley's in school would be remaining behind. Harry decided he would stay as well as he wanted to hang out with his friends more then go on a cruise, even if Ron was having a snit.

Saturday arrived and Professor Dumbledore got all the children together just outside the school wards. Hagrid would be meeting up with Harry's aunt and cousin and bringing them to Diagon Alley, while Draco's parents would meet them at the bank itself. Harry dressed in his finest robes and even leant Ron a pair of his robes. Ron had finally apologized that morning and asked if he could come along and Harry was happy to have him. Professor Snape would be coming as well as he wanted to hear the results directly, he was quite interested in finding out what happened to the lost Potioneer and as Draco's Godfather had the excuse to come along.

They used a port key and arrived right in the back yard of the Leaky Cauldron. Harry excitedly greeted his aunt and cousin and did his best to provide proper introductions to everyone. Dudley was quite happily mingling with the other students and Aunt Petunia shook hands with everyone, though she got quite stiff as she greeted Professor Snape, who himself was trying to stifle a sneer.

"Hello Snape. Have you been well?" Petunia asked with stiff politeness.

"Quite, 'Tuney, and yourself?" Snape responded just as stiffly.

"Well enough."

Petunia nodded and turned away moving to Harry and fussing with his robes and then with Ron's. She told Harry she was quite proud of him for letting his friend borrow one of his fine pairs of robes so he would look presentable and warned them and Dudley to be on their best behaviour there was a strong chorus of 'Yes Ma'am's' from all the students as Hermione and Draco were being looked over by Hermione's mum. They opened the entrance to the Alley and started through. Harry suddenly paled and stopped the group with a shout as they got a few paces into the Alley.

"Where's Beth?!" He cried, realizing she hadn't been with them when they used the portkey and in the excitement hadn't noticed. The only reason he noticed now was because he had a question for her and couldn't find her. Professor Snape suddenly looked concerned as well as Dumbledore. Harry looked around frantically about and with Snape and Dumbledore's direction looked around where they had ported. Harry caught Snapes furious muttering to Dumbledore.

"We should have checked that she was with him before we used the 'Key Albus!"

"I know, my boy, I know!" Dumbledore responded with a worried tone.

Harry found Beth curled up as much as she could in the shade against the wall of the Leaky Cauldron. Harry let out a shout of dismay and rushed to her side. She was pale and sickly and was sweating as if she had a fever. His hands hovered over her and he whimpered unsure of what to do, tears filling his eyes.

"What's wrong with her?!"

"Harry my boy, I am very sorry." Dumbledore said in a calming tone. "Where a Wizard goes his Imaginary is magically bound to follow. When we took the Port Key and she was not with you, touching you or the key, the magic of the Bond forced her to travel to where you ended up."

"What the Headmaster is not telling you is that this," Snape said, "is the result of a 'punishment' system that the Imaginaries superiors put into place. Sugar coating this will do no good, old man." Professor Snape said, issuing the older man a slight glare. "They are supposed to remain near their human and if they stray too far out of the allotted distance they start to feel pain, their duty and job is to remain with their human. An unexpected result appeared however, when Port Key travel and Apparition travel was first invented and the Bond forces the Imaginary to follow whilst still afflicting them with pain for distance between the wizards starting and ending point from the Imaginary."

"That's horrible! Why haven't they fixed it so it wont hurt them?" Harry asked turning to Beth who smiled weakly at him.

"Can't be am...amended Dear Harry. The O-oaths were sworn...long ago." She took a breath and winced. "My own f-fault...I was talking with T..." She coughed. "Ah...I f-forget myself...I was talking to another I-imaginary and l-lost track of time."

"Sir?" Harry looked to Dumbledore and Snape. "Can't I help her?"

"Yes dear boy." Dumbledore said and carefully lowered down to kneel beside Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Close your eyes and open yourself, feel your 'core' and then feel the 'tether' linking Beth to you."

Harry took a deep breath and focused reached to his magical core like they taught in class so they could draw the magic to their wands. He nodded to the Headmaster when he felt the 'tether'.

"Good, good. Now 'push' your magic to her. Not too fast!" Dumbledore cried and caught Harry as he sat down heavily, suddenly dizzy. Harry blinked wearily as he watch the color return to Beth's cheeks and her breathing eased. Tears pricked his eyes as he lunged forward and hugged his Imaginary continually saying it was his fault. The others all moved a small distance away to give him some privacy. It took a gentle but firm thump to his head to quiet him and catch his attention, he sniffled as he looked at Beth.

"Again Dear Harry it was MY OWN fault. I was the one who lost track of time."

"But I should have checked...!" Her finger pushed against his lips and he fell silent.

"You didn't know the consequences, I did. It is NOT your fault you understand me lad?"

He nodded slowly and she wiped at his face, cleaning away the tear tracks. He stood up and braced himself letting him brace her hand on his shoulder as she pushed herself to her feet. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking at him quite seriously.

"Listen to me dear Harry, if that ever does happen again, by choice or not, focus as you just did to restore me. I am TIED to you and if left in such a state when you need me most might harm us both."

Harry nodded slowly at her words hoping that something like this would never happen again. He scrubbed at his face again fighting back a few sniffles. She placed her hand on his shoulder and with a limp, guided him toward the others. She kept her hand on his shoulder even as they reached the group, needing his help to keep her balance.

"She's ok now. I'm sorry, we're running late aren't we?"

Professor Dumbledore checked an odd looking pocket watch before smiling and shaking his head.

"No, we will still be on time, if barely. Well then, lets be off!"

The group walked quickly to the bank. Beth let go of Harry's arm and walked a few paces behind the group still with a slight limp. Harry looked back often to make sure she was ok and often found her shaking her head with a slightly chagrined look on her face. Harry frowned and then turned and caught up to Dumbledore and gave a gentle tug on the older mans hand.

"Sir? How do you know so much about Imaginaries?" Harry asked, careful not to ask if the Headmaster had an imaginary himself. Hermione having caught his question shifted herself to was beside them so she could hear the answer.

"Ah well, an old friend and I were quite fascinated with the subject and after years of work we created the Mirror, you remember the one at the trial?" Harry nodded. "Good, good. We were able to befriend a few Wizards and Witches who had Imaginaries and once we got the Mirror up and running we spoke in depth concerning their history, well, what they were willing and able to speak of I should say. One of the things discussed was how Port Key's and Apparition affected one of them if they were not on hand for the trip and how to treat them if such happened. fascinating lot."

"What did they look like?" Harry asked. "The ones you talked to?"

"Well my boy, one was a suit of living armor, another was a miniature elephant and the third was a talking plushie lion with white wings."

"A plushie? Really?" Hermione said with a frown. "Do they look like that naturally or do they take the form a child 'wishes'?"

"Gawain, the armor, told me that they take the form the child 'needs' and that when they first 'cross' into our world they are incorporeal, a simple wisp of light. As I said, fascinating yes?"

Both Harry and Hermione nodded. Hermione slipped to the other side of the man and grabbed his other hand.

"Are you going to write a book about them?"

"Oh well," Dumbledore took a deep breath and let out a wistful sigh as he came to a halt just before the banks main doors. "Plenty of books with theories, but for this, an actual 'straight from the mouth of horses', I believe that's the muggle saying, book. I'm afraid I'm waiting on a response from their superiors on what I can and cannot publish my dear. Amusing that even with a different worlds rules, I find myself waiting for the 'blue tape' to be cleared."

"'Red tape.'" Hermione corrected with a giggle. "It's called Red Tape. And it's 'straight from the horses mouth'"

"Quite." Dumbledore said in amicable agreement with the young girl. "Ah, hello Lucius!"

"Headmaster," said a tall platinum blonde man with blue eyes and in fine black robes. He was standing next to a lovely woman with hair just a shade paled then his own and eyes just as vibrant a blue. She was dressed in a cream colored dress robe with a red shawl that accentuated the red of her lips. Harry blinked and thought to himself that if her hair had been black she would have been the spitting image of Snow White from his copy of The Brothers Grimm. He didn't realize he'd actually said part of his thoughts aloud until Mrs. Malfoy turned to him with a smile.

"Snow White? Do you mean Schneewittchen, the old German Witch tale?" She asked.

"I'm not sure ma'am." Harry said with a blush. "I just know the story from my book, The Brother's Grimm. It's about a queen who wishes to have a girl with hair of ebony, skin of snow and lips red as blood. She gets her wish and has a beautiful daughter but passes away not long later. Her father remarried to an lovely, but evil witch who tries to kill Snow White several times over 'cause Snow White's prettier then her."

Mrs. Malfoy was nodding slowly. "It seems to be the same story, although Schneewittchen and her parents were magical as well. The Dark Witch seduced Schneewittchen's father with a Love Potion in our version."

"Really? I'd love to read it." Harry smiled and Mrs. Malfoy returned the grin and looked to her husband.

"Such a sweet boy our Draco befriended." Harry caught Draco all but preening at his mothers praise for his choice of friends.

"He is indeed. Well then, Mr. Granger is it?" Mr. Malfoy said holding out his hand to Hermione's dad. The two men shook hands and then Mr. Malfoy started to lead the group inside. "This is quite a momentous affair. I'm surprised no one thought of trying this before your daughter, quite...brilliant."

"Oh we're very proud of her. She was never interested in the Family Tree before now and we're happy to be able to find more family..."

"Oh my!" Aunt Petunia's startled cry sent Harry rushing to her side and distracted him from the conversation and he grabbed her hand. His aunt was looking with wide eyes at all the goblins milling about in the bank. He gave her hand a gentle tug and whispered to her.

"Aunt 'Tunia. You're staring."

She shook herself and looked to him with a grateful smile. She straightened, looking regal in her own dress and wearing the necklace he'd given her. She took Dudley's hand and gave him the same admonishment and Dudley restrained himself to watching everything from the corners of his eyes. A goblin advanced to meet them and Harry grinned when he recognised him.

"Griphook! Hello again, how are you?"

"Ah, Master Potter," Griphook blinked with surprise then gave a goblin smile. Harry could feel his Aunt stiffen with fear and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Pleasure to see you again. I am doing well enough. Now, to business!"

The group was led to a large room with a massive table and enough chairs to seat everyone. Once they were all settled, with the Malfoy and Granger families on opposite sides so they were facing each other, Griphook whipped out a massive item that looked like a water fountain with two levels. Multiple holes were alongside the edges. Next he took over two needle and syringe kits and Harry and Hermione leaned forward.

"You use muggle syringes?" Hermione asked. "Why?"

"Less fuss then a silver knife to the wrist." Griphook replied with another toothy grin. The wizarding adults all nodded in agreement.

"Oh."

Griphook proceeded to draw blood from both Mr. Granger and then from Hermione. Once done he looked them both over with a critical eye.

"Neither of you are in need of a _Lolly_ are you?" He asked in an almost scathing tone. Hermione blushed and looked down at her hands and Mr. Granger laughed softly.

"No Need of one no, but I think 'Mione would Like one, yes Princess?"

"Um...yes please..." Hermione said, blush deepening as she looked at Griphook hopefully. "If it's not a bother I mean."

Griphook gave a long suffering sigh and a watermelon lolly appeared in front of Hermione, she let out a sound of joy, said thank you and immediately opened it and popped it into her mouth. Griphook then turned and opened an old wooden case with the Black family crest on it. Inside was a single tube filled with blood. He inserted that at the top left of the 'fountain' which connected to the lower level. He then connected the tubes from the Grangers at the top right, which seemed to connect to the higher level. Then he placed a sheet of parchment in front of the fountain. With a snap of his fingers clear fluid appeared in both 'levels'.

"The Grangers blood will mix at the top level with the solution and will turn Blue if relation is confirmed." As he spoke they watched the blood drain from the tubes and mix with the top level solution. The blood mixed and then the solution glowed blue. The level 'tipped' and started pouring into the lower level. "Now the Granger's blood will mix with Ms. Blacks, again glowing blue if relation is confirmed." Everyone leaned forward as a small amount of blood drained from Ms. Black's tube. A few moments passed and the mixed blood glowed blue. Hermione was bouncing in her seat with excitement. "Now the blood will move to the parchment and show the relation if possible. Muggles will appear as a black shadow image with names while Wizarding relations will show with a color portrait."

They all watched with interest as the blue 'ink' spilled free of the second level and onto the parchment. It spread to a line at the top and then flowed down. Cassopeia's image appeared in color at the top tied to a black Muggle picture labeled Thomas Granger. It went down the line showing a Alan Scott Granger marrying a Mary-Jane Parker, then a Jonathan Granger marrying a Martha Wayne and then it showed Mr. Granger's name and then the 'ink' disappeared. Everyone sat back slowly taking in what they had just seen. Hermione finally let out a squeak that turned into a cheer. Harry, Draco, Ron and Dudley all started talking at once.

"Welcome to the family!" Shouted Draco.

"Ruddy 'ell Hermione! You really are a Black!" Shouted Ron.

"That was amazing!" said Dudley.

"'Grats Hermione! This is amazing!" Harry said and then nudged Draco who suddenly handed him a small pouch filled with coins. Harry had had one ready in his own pocket just in case following his aunt's words to be pragmatic. Mrs. Malfoy cleared her throat and the children quieted down.

"As half of the Black fortune that would have been Cassiopeia's was placed along my own line I hear by welcome back the Blood of My Blood and return said fortunes to the Heirs of Cassiopeia Black. Griphook please see that this is done."

"Of course Mrs. Malfoy. I will also be getting in touch with the current Head of the Black family, Sirius Black concerning the fortunes that were passed to his line."

"Draco you told us this was a project?" Lucius asked, turning to his son. "Shall we make announcements or were you intending to publish the findings as a group?"

"Father, we wish to publish it as a group. Please refrain from making an announcement. But if possible could you put us in touch with a reporter you trust?"

"Very well. I have two in mind. One can be a bit droll while the other is known to be a bit...flamboyent...with their reports. With the right payment though they can both be kept in line." He said with a nod.

"Thank you!" Came the chorus from the children.

/*/*-*-/*/**-*-*-

They left the bank in high spirits. Harry had let his aunt know he would stay for Christmas as he wanted to spend time with Ron and the Twins and to please enjoy the cruise. His aunt had also gotten a list of prominent wizard family names and even a few lesser know family names so she could look into the Evans Family Tree when she got the time. After a lengthy fair well, the children all grouped up around Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape. Harry was careful this time to hold onto Beth's hand for the 'Key back. They made it back without any problems, which relieved Harry as he did not want to see Beth in pain again and they made their way back inside the castle.

The rest of the month passed swiftly for the children and the group managed to do quite a bit of work on the report they were writing about their findings. There was a bit of disappointment as they received news that the other bloodline would not be able to be tested until the end of the school year but thoughts of disappointment flew from their minds as Christmas neared.

Hagrid had brought in huge pine trees for the staff to decorate in the Great Hall and Harry marvelled at the change in atmosphere the decorations brought to the castle. He and Hermione both questions Professor Flitwick on the charms used to prevent the candles from dripping wax as well as the ones used to protect the tree from the flames. The Professor was quite happy to go over the charm details but would not teach them the movements for the charm as it was a Third Year spell and warned them not to try the charms by themselves.

The next big event for the month was the Twins Holiday Prank, which happened the day before those students heading home would be catching the train. Somehow, someway they'd managed to put something into the food, drink or desert that ended up affecting the entire Great Hall. For a minute, everyone became an animal decked out in holiday outfits. Slytherins all became snakes of various types and breeds but which all wore a small wreath of holly around their necks and had little christmas lights on the tips of their tails. Hufflepuffs were turned into young badgers wearing a Santa hat and beard. Ravenclaws became ravens with little elf ears and if they tried to fly sparkles shot off of their wingtips. And Gryffindors became young lion cubs with raindeer antlers and silver paws, the Twins also turned into cubs so as to better hide that the prank was theirs.

What the staff became was hilarious. Headmaster Dumbledore was turned into a phoenix with green plumage and had tree lights wrapped around him with a star on his head instead of his wizards hat. The rest of the professors ended up in equally ridiculous shapes and dress. Everyone shared a good laugh and Ron and Harry tried to put their heads together for a good prank on the twins. Hermione left the boys with instructions to notify her immediately if they were able to figure out who Nicolas Flammel was.

Christmas Morning came upon them swiftly and Harry woke eagerly. He'd sent Hedwig off with early gifts for his aunt and cousin, a box of chocolate frogs for his cousin and a bottle of perfume, Enchantress (suggested by Draco as it was his mothers favorite brand), for his aunt. He'd also sent out for a serpant medallion for Draco, a book of magical theory and core growth for Hermione, a new Chess set for Ron and for the twins was a basic muggle prank of boxes within boxes with the main gift being within a tiny box and held a carefully jinxed fifty pence coin. Once the Twins held their coins for fifteen seconds they would be transfigured into Starlings with bright blue and red iridescent feathers. The transformation would last for only a few minutes and the package only had a simple 'from saint nick' label so they wouldn't easily be able to trace it back to Harry.

He found his owl sitting on the footboard of his bed, head tucked under a wing. Laying on the bed itself was several small packages and a few larger ones for him. He grinned and woke Ron up and the boys opened their packages eagerly. Mrs. Weasley had made him a 'Weasley jumper', Hagrid sent him a carved flute, Aunt Petunia had sent him a new pair of trainers and Dudley sent him a Hawkers Glove to use with Hedwig if he wanted to take her hunting. Harry was a little leary of the last package which was unsigned and carefully opened it. Inside was a fluid and silvery gray cloth and felt odd to the touch, almost like water sliding through his fingers. Ron had fallen off his bed when he noticed it.

"Blimey! If that's what I think it is mate, it's really rare and Really valuable!"

"What is it?"

"An Invisibility Cloak, I'm sure of it!" Ron sat up with a look of awe on his face. "Go on mate, try it on!"

Harry shrugged and wandered over to the mirror. He then slipped the cloak over his shoulders and watched in amazement as his lower body disappeared.

"It is! It really is!" Ron said. "Oh hey, here's a note! 'Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A very Merry Christmas to you.' It's not signed."

Harry turned to Ron, holding out a hand for the note when a shout startled him and he spun around to see Beth standing pale in the doorway.

"What in the World?! Harry what did you do to yourself?!"

"Ah I didn't..." Harry blinked and looked down at himself and then laughed when he realized how bad it must look to his Friend, his head floating and hand floating in the air without the rest of him. He took off the cloak and held it up. "It's an Invisibility Cloak! Belonged to my dad apparently." He took the note from Ron and handed it to Beth so she could read it. At Ron's confused look he leaned over and explained what had happened causing the other boy to snicker softly. There was a clatter of noise from the stairs and Harry quickly hid the cloak on instinct. The Twins came into the room cheerfully wearing their own jumpers and talking eagerly about the prank they just went through. They threw theories back and forth on 'who dunnit' until Percy came in complaining about the noise while holding his own jumper in his hands. The Twins left, forcing the jumper onto their elder brother and carrying him out of the room while singing carols at the top of their lungs.

Harry and Ron shared a laugh at that and went down to enjoy breakfast. There were tons of Wizard Crackers. Harry pulled one with Fred and couldn't help yelping at the cannon like 'Boom' that filled the Great Hall. After the first one Beth let him know she would be outside and to 'tug' along their connection line if he needed her. He'd blinked in confusion and she laughed walking him through the steps he'd gone through intially to help her the day they went to the bank and instead of pushing magic to her to 'grab' the 'line' and 'tug'. He tried that a few times before she was satisfied he understood and then left the hall right as another 'Bang' went off.

Afterwards Harry ended up with a pile of goodies including a new chess set, some balloons and even a 'grow-your-own-wart' kit. Several dozen white mice had appeared along with the nick-knacks and Harry was worried they'd end up as food for Mrs. Norris. When he voiced the concern to Ron, he'd simply waved the concern away, the mice would vanish after several minutes as they were just transfigured confetti, otherwise his own home, the Burrow, would have to deal with a mouse infestation on those Christmas's when everyone was home.

They went outside then with the Twins and started a snow war. The Twins were experts and had Ron and Harry pinned down. Suddenly Harry got an idea and grinned. Telling Ron to cover him he hid and gently reached out to 'tug' on his connection to Beth. He did it gently and tried to project a sense of 'I'm ok, but I still need to see you'. After a few moments and a snowball to the face for Ron, Beth showed up at a jog and took in the scene. With a smirk she looked at Harry, understanding instinctively what he wanted and she made her way behind the Twins. A gentle pull to his core later and the Twins suddenly found themselves being pelted from behind by the snowballs Beth was forming with magic. She had them forming and lining up behind her like the bullets to a machine gun and they shot forward past her arms to hit the Twins. The Twins howled in shock and scrambled away from their cover only to be pelted by Harry and Ron.

"Not fair!" Shouted the Twins.

"No using an Imaginary..."

"We have no way to retaliate!"

"Unless we...?"

"Oh good idea twin mine!"

The Twins drew their wands and the next thing Harry knew he was trapped his head poking up out of two massive balls of snow. Ron he saw was in the same predicament. They had been encased in snow to look like snowmen! Beth burst into laughter at the sight which earned her a glare from Harry. What was worse was Professor Snape walking by on his normal patrol. He eyed the two and Harry caught a familiar twitch of eyebrows before he turned away, calling back in a mocking voice.

"I should take points from Gryffindor for such an abysmal impersonations of Snowmen." Snape then turned and looked at the twins with a glare. "Remember your detention tonight."

"Yessir!" The Twins said, saluting the Professor who huffed and walked off.

Harry and Ron finally got free of the snow.

"Why are you two so cheerful about detention?" Ron asked brushing snow off of his pants.

"Nothing you need..."

"To worry about brother mine..."

"Our business with...

"The Potions Master is our own."

Both of the Twins puffed up to look superior only to get pelted again by Beth, which started the fight all over again.

/*/*-/*-*-/*/*-*-*-/*

Alright! Next chappie done!  
I wonder if Petunia will find anything? :)

Also house points if you can guess the origins of the 'granger' tree. Should be simple :)

Please Read and Review!


	15. Chapter 15

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

And the house points go to excalibur's fire! 'Grats!

A good question concerning the Bond. That'll be answered later on. Mainly though it was a way to insure Imaginaries remained with their charges and was put into place by their superiors. Hmm seems like something bad happened once for that to become necessary, eh?

/*/*/*/*/*/**/

Chapter 15: Hearts Desire

The rest of Harry's Christmas went well, especially when he got a delayed letter from his godfather Sirius, who wished him happy holidays and gave him some galleons to buy a gift for himself as his godfather was still in Saint Mungos and wasn't allowed out just yet and besides that he wasn't sure what Harry would have wanted. Was he more into Quidditch like his dad or a bookworm like his mom now that he was older? Did he like pranks and jokes at all or did he prefer to stay out of trouble? Who was his favorite teacher and what House was he in? His Godfather had so many questions for him and after he finished his response letter he fell exhausted into bed. Snuggling up under the covers his hand brushed against the cloak under his pillow. He grinned sleepily as he ran his fingers through the soft water-like cloth as his eyes fell shut. An Invisibility Cloak! What an amazing gift! With it he could go just about anywhere and no one would know. It would work great to prank the Twins, he could go anywhere at anytime and no one would know.

At the last thought he sat up abruptly, suddenly wide awake. 'Use it wisely' the note had said. What he needed was time, time to look up information on Nicholas Flammel and figure out the mystery of the three headed dog and what it protected. The librarian was a strict and scary lady and had chased him and the others out of the library often enough while they tried to search. With the Cloak he could peruse the library at his own pace without her hovering protectively over her books. He grinned and slid out of his bed swiftly, grabbing the Cloak in his hands and then wrapping it around himself.

He looked around for Beth, and then sighed in relief when he realized she wasn't in the room and was most likely doing her nightly patrols. He made his way to the door and then paused to look back to his snoring friend. He shook his head then and decided to continue on without Ron. He wanted to enjoy using the Cloak for his first exploration on his own.

He wrapped the Cloak tight around him and slipped out of the Tower. He had to bite back a small giggle at The Fat Lady's sleepy call of 'What? Who's there?' as he opened the portrait. He made his way down the dimly lit halls to the Library and then slipped inside. He blinked for a moment, getting used to the utter darkness of the room and then carefully felt around for one of the lanterns that normally hung near the door. He stopped after a moment and then hit his forehead lightly and then took out his wand.

"Lumos." He whispered flicking his wand.

A gentle light emitted from his wand and he grinned to himself at his cleverness. Now Madam Pince wouldn't even know someone had been in the library at night if she happened to check the lanterns. He went over to the history section of the library and tried a few more books along the lines of 'Greatest Discoveries of the past Fifty Years', they'd already tried that one so he grabbed the one next to it for the past Hundred Years and one titled 'Little Known Discoveries of the Past Century'. He spent time digging through each book looking for a reference to Nicolas Flamel. He found references to the Mirror of Bonds in both books but they didn't mention anything else that Flamel had created, just that it had been an amazing collaboration of skill between Flamel, who was reclusive in nature, and Dumbledore, who was the most powerful wizard of his generation.

He let out a groan as he finished looking through the book and carefully moved to put them away. He looked around and then caught sight of the sign to the Restricted Section of the Library. He frowned a bit as he thought to himself. Something that needed to be protected by a Three-headed Dog might very well be a dangerous artifact that might not be found in the conventional library books. If it was a dark or dangerous artifact then it might be that the only way he could find out anything would be in the Restricted section itself. He nodded to himself at the logic and moved to that section of the library.

He slipped under the rope cordening off the area and started to look at the book titles hoping to find something that might carry what he was looking for. Maybe something along the lines of 'Dangerous items made' or 'Major Cursed Objects' or 'Making Deadly Objects for Dummies'. He snickered to himself as he thought of the last title wondering if he would actually find something like that.

Most of the books though had titles he couldn't read or no titles at all. He steered right clear of the one covered in blood. Was it his imagination or did he hear whispering. He stilled closing his eyes and quickly whispered 'nox' to kill his light. He looked around slowly trying to see if there was anyone else around. After several long moments he passed it off as imagining something and lit his wand again.

He caught sight of a large black volume with no words but had a symbol that looked vaguely similar to the muggle Hazmat warning icon and decided that would be a good place to start. He grabbed the book and pulled it free but it was heavy and he lost his one handed grip causing the book to fall to the floor along with a few others.

Several piercing screams filled the air and he yelped covering his ears. The books were screaming! His eyes widened as he realized Why anyone who wanted a book from the section needed a pass. If you didn't have a pass the books themselves were spelled to warn the Librarian that a student was looking at a book without permission. He whispered 'nox' quickly and moved out of the restricted section and out of the library itself.

He rushed down the halls, keeping the Cloak pulled tight around him. He came to a stop near some armor, taking in big gulps of air. He froze when he heard Filch's voice.

"Professor, you asked me to come get you directly if there was any sign a students been out after curfew. Someone's been in the Library, the Restricted Section."

"The Restricted Section? They can't have gone far then." Harry froze as he heard Professor Snape respond and gulped in fear.  
Out of all of his teachers Snape was the most strict, he had to be with what he taught and from what Harry had heard from his dorm-mates Snape's detentions were the worst, and it didn't matter if it was around the holidays or not, he allowed for no leeway.

As the two faculty members made their way into the narrow hall Harry backed away. The corridor was too narrow with the two men walking side by side and even the Cloak wouldn't prevent them from feeling him if they brushed into him. He reached back behind him blindly while trying to keep both men in sight and stay ahead of them. He felt the edges of an open door and turned to swiftly duck inside the room, careful not to move the door.

He watched as they passed by with lanterns in hand and breathed a sigh of relief as they continued down the hall back toward the library. He backed away from the door and looked around the room curiously. It was a dusty unused classroom from the look of things. Extra desks and chairs were piled to one side of the room covered in dust and grime. The chalkboard was just as dirty. At the other end though was an object that caught his eye.

It was a large ornate mirror similar to the Mirror of Bonds. Tall enough to reach the ceiling of the class room and gold instead of silver. It had two large clawed feet that acted as its base and ornate writing along the edges. 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'. He blinked, a bit puzzled by the words and then shrugged and looked into the mirror itself.

He slapped his hand over his mouth to muffled his yell as he fell backwards. He'd caught a glimpse of...someone. Looking around the room he saw no one else there. He stood up slowly and moved to stand fully in front of the mirror. The mirror blurred and then the figures appeared again. A woman was standing just behind him with bright green eyes like his own and dark red hair. There was a man beside her with dark hair like his own and wearing glasses. It took a moment for him to recognise the woman from his aunt's locket. It was his mum, Lily.

As he watched his Aunt appeared and his mum turned to face her. He could make out his aunt saying that she was sorry and his mum saying that Petunia was forgiven. Harry smiled and then sniffled a bit realising he was crying as he watched his aunt and his parents interacting happily everything forgiven as they surrounded Harry with their love. Dudley appeared in the mirror to be introduced to his mum and dad and then two older couples showed up. Harry recognised his grandparents on his mum and aunts side, long dead by a car accident while they were crossing traffic at a cross walk while heading to church. The other pair of elders stood behind his father.

Harry sat down slowly, eyes locked on the mirror as he watched himself interacting with everyone happily. He wanted so badly for what he saw to be real. His aunt being forgiven by his mum and welcomed back with open arms, no longer fearing and loathing magic because of bitter loss and no chance to say goodbye. He grinned as he watched himself grow up surrounded by so many, watched as Dudley grew up to join the muggle ministry and worked hand in hand with the Wizarding ministry to promote understanding while Harry himself was Dudley's wizarding counterpart while also acting as a professional Seeker during off hours. His whole family made it to his games to cheer him on.

He didn't know how long he'd been in front of a mirror but a banging sound caught his attention and broke his concentration on the mirror. He looked back longingly but knew he had to hurry back to his dorm before Beth realized he was missing. Standing up he wrapped the Cloak around him and started off for his room a whispered promise to the images in the Mirror that he would be back soon.

/*/**-*-/*/**-*-

Harry wanted to share his finding of the Mirror with Ron but didn't have much chance to through the day. Beth was on him like a hawk, she had apparently checked on him through the night and found him missing. He'd passed it off as simply using the Cloak to sneak to the kitchens for a snack but he had been gone for several hours from what she told him. She'd searched the kitchens herself thinking to find him there and by the time she'd pushed aside her worry and thought of using their 'tether' to locate him he'd been back in bed. She even asked him if he was the student that had been in the library that Filch and Snape were trying to find and he shook his head saying that he had gone for a snack and then just walked around for a bit. He really hadn't thought he'd been gone long.

He was very glad to hear that she hadn't thought to use their bond to find him until he was back in bed. For some reason he didn't want to share that he had found the Mirror with her. The Mirror was special, it showed all of his family reconciling and spending time together. He went through the day listlessly. Food tasted like cardboard and he would have forgotten about Flamel completely if Ron hadn't asked him if he had checked the library at all that day. Madam Pince had apparently chased Ron out of the library and told him to 'not come back unless he knew EXACTLY what he was looking for.'

That night it took all of Harry's willpower to remain in bed so Beth didn't catch him and find out about the Mirror. He could feel it's pull on him. When there was a prank involving fireworks that night in different parts of the castle, Beth eased up the next day and stopped hovering causing Harry to breathe a sigh of relief. He finally had the chance to tell Ron about the Mirror.

"I think the Mirror shows people's family, I'd love to see all of the Weasleys! And I would have told you yesterday, but Beth just wouldn't stop hovering. I don't want her realising that it really was me in the Restricted Section." Harry said. "I'll take you to see it tonight."

"That's ok mate. She seems pretty strict. It'll be nice to check out this Mirror of yours." Ron seemed to be relieved for some reason and then Harry realised it was because Harry had actively provided him information on his Imaginary. Before Ron would just try to allude as carefully as he could to his Friend without actually saying or asking anything outright about her. Harry recalled Griphooks warning to never directly ask if another person had an Imaginary for it was a private matter. Harry frowned suddenly and looked back to Ron.

"Hey mate. Why is everything so hush hush with Imaginaries anyway? Griphook, a goblin at Gringotts, told me to never ask someone directly if they had one. Said it was private. Why?"

"Well..." Ron coughed softly and then sat up, looking a bit proud that he would be able to explain something to his friend. "Ya see most Imaginaries only attach to people who have bad childhoods, so most don't want it spread around that they had it rough, don't like others to pity them. Some have had abusive parents, grew up in an orphanage, some were kids who have been abandoned and more scenarios but those are the most common to come across. Heard of some cases of the last where you have siblings that loathe each other both ending up with Imaginaries 'cause they couldn't rely on each other. In fact there's a story 'bout Hanzel and Gretal, the two really didn't get along but 'cause they were abandoned in the woods when they were six, their step-mother spelled their father into doing that, she was a right evil witch, reckon she used the Imperius curse, and the two decided to go their own way since they couldn't stand each other. An imaginary attached to each to help them survive in the woods on their own and then they were caught by a Dark Witch after living in the woods for a year. They would have been killed for a Dark Ritual used to supposedly make the witch young again but their Imaginaries convinced them to set aside their issues and work together. They managed to work together and with a bit of luck and their accidental magic they were able to knock the Dark Witch into her ritual fire pit!"

"Wow, the wizarding story is really different from the muggle version!" Harry said surprised. "What happened with the father?"

"Ah, on that end the story says that the father managed to fight off his step-wifes spell long enough to call the authorities and this was shortly before the two were caught. A hunt went out to try to find the kids but there wasn't much hope since the forest they were led into was a dangerous magical forest like our own Forbidden Forst, see?" Harry nodded slowly, leaning forward. "That was when the 'Four Point Spell' was supposed to have been invented. The siblings wanted out of the woods and their father had told them if they got lost in the woods to always go east and they would eventually hit the edge of the woods and be back in civilized areas since the forest connected to plains to the east and well, they didn't know which way was east. Little kids that they were when they were sent into the woods, they didn't really know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. They worked together with their imaginaries and with their imaginaries help and skill with magic, made the spell work with a stick of willow wood..."

"So this was before Wizards started using wands?" Harry interrupted.

"No actually, but the kids were too young to have gotten wands, remember?"

Harry nodded.

"Anyway, they used the stick of Willow wood and got it to point North and then knew which way to go. So the story was about, ya know reconciliation, how the four point spell was invented, and supposed to have been when we started branching out on what kinds of woods we used for wands since we didn't use Willow wood at that time, we supposedly only used oak, hawthorn and birch."

"Alright, but what about me? Beth said when she attached to me I have a perfectly good family at the time."

"Really?!" Ron shot back in his seat, causing his chair to overbalance and ended up on the ground. "Ow!"

Harry rushed to help his friend to his feet. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just my pride." Ron righted his seat and sat down heavily. "She came to you when you had your family still? Blimey mate. You're a Destined! I wouldn't be surprised if there's a prophecy somewhere 'bout you. Probably about when you defeated You-know-who as a baby!"

"Firstly I think that was Mum who beat him, not me. I just survived. Secondly, what do you mean, Prophecy?" Harry said with a frown.

"Destined children are supposed to do something big, like defeating a Dark wizard or throwing the wizarding world on its ear or ending a centuries long war peacefully. Mind you not all Destined will have a prophecy about them, the subtle Destined make changes that no one real notices or thinks is a big thing until years and years later but most will have a Prophecy. Like...like..oh! Like when the founders made Hogwarts, it's rumored that one or all of them might have had Imaginaries cause there was a prophecy Mum told us about, the prophecy was supposed to be about a fortress built as safe haven and as a school by a Tower Raven, a Gentle Badger, a Rampant Lion and a Aesculapian Serpant. "

"So Tower Raven is Ravenclaw obviously, she would have lived around where the tower of london was built the. Wait, the school was founded around 990, and the tower built around 1060ish right?" Harry blinked in confusion and Ron shrugged.

"Probably just a vision on what her home was going to be turned into I reckon." Ron shrugged, he didn't much like history anway.

"And the Gentle Badger of course is Hufflepuff, when badgers are known more for being rather mean she is gentle. Rampent Lion is Gryffindor obviously. But you said Aesculapian Serpant?"

"Yep, Syltherin. The pureblooded arsehole." Ron said with a frown.

"Well I can see why he wanted to keep things with people who were born to wizarding families though."

"WHAT?!" Ron shouted. "How can you say that?"

"Hear me out first Ron!" His friend subsided with a glower. "Look at that time there was a lot of strife and witch huntings and the like, read about it in muggle history. You probably had muggles who had magical kids and then either were ostracized from their town for it because they blamed the kid for causing any problems like a famine or a flood, they'd probably turn their kids in to be killed for being devils spawn or tried to hide their kids magic. So the school is built so anyone wanting to learn magic will be safe, but I bet Slytherins biggest concern was what if the church got one of these kids, told the parents to hold on to them until a witch or wizard appeared, promising to mentor them, and then sent the kid to the school to find out where it was so that those with magic, 'devils spawn' could be hunted down and purged. Keeping the school isolated to those who are already magic and know about magic and aren't going to go zealot on those within was probably what he was concerned about. The others wanted to make a safe haven for any magical and were probably willing to take the risk, which is why Hogwarts cannot be seen or found by muggles."

"Well I suppose that makes some sense...but why are you defending snakes? I mean beyond the...thingy." Ron waived at Harry.

"'Cause of what you called him, 'Aesculapian Serpant'."

"So?"

"Aesculapian Serpants are non-poisioness snakes that represent the Healing Arts."

"Wait, what?!" Ron looked at Harry in shock.

Harry then explained what he'd learned in history about ancient Greeks and how they kept the snakes in their healers temples. He even explained about the healers symbol with a snake wrapped around a rod or staff. Ron seemed doubtful but at least was willing to listen. After a bit they decided to turn in early so they could wake up at midnight and go look for the Mirror.

/*/**-*-/*/**-*-

Harry woke up with a small groan and slid to the edge to grab the bed curtain and looked to see if Beth was in the room. He was anxious to go see the Mirror again. Smiling when he saw that she was gone he slipped out of bed and grabbed his Cloak before moving over to Ron's bed. He shook his snoring friend a few times and Ron finally awoke with a start causing Harry to slam his hand over Ron's mouth to muffle the yell. With a pointed glare to his friend they both covered up with the Cloak and made their way out of the dorm.

They made their way to the Library first before tracing Harry's step to find the abandoned class room that held the Mirror. Harry didn't have to cast 'Lumos' since the Mirror seemed to act as it's own light source and the boys could see the Mirror's surface clearly as they approached. Harry longed to step in front of the Mirror but wanted his friend to see first so he gave Ron a nudge.

"So? Do you see your family? They are all there right?"

"No." Ron said sounding awed. "I'm alone. It's just me and...I'm older? And that's a Head Boy badge and a Captains badge on my robe and I'm holding both the Quidditch and the House Cup!"

"WHAT?!" Harry cried, shocked.

"Do ya think this shows the future?!" Ron turned to look at Harry in excitment for a moment and then turned back to the Mirror.

"A lot of my family is dead...let me have another look."

"You had it to yourself for a whole night! Give me some more time mate!"

"You're only holding two cups! What's so interesting about that? I want to see my family again!" Harry gave Ron a shove trying to move him out from in front of the Mirror as he felt rage flare in his heart.

"Don't push...!"

A sudden noise right outside the door caused them to freeze and then they scrambled back under the Cloak. A few moments later Mrs. Norris pushed her way into the room slowly sniffing at the air and looking around. Her eyes focused on where they stood and for several long moments Harry was sure she could see through his Cloak. After another long moment though she seemed to let out a huff of annoyance and left the room with a flick of her tail.

"This isn't gonna work out...I think she went to get Filch, we need to go!"

They hurriedly made their way back to the tower.

/*/**-*-/*/**-*-/*/*

The next day Harry was even worse. He couldn't eat, couldn't get up the will to play chess, visit Hagrid or anything. Ron noticed that he would stare vacently into space for minutes at a time and called his friend out on his lassitude.

"Mate... I know what your thinkin' about. That Mirror. Don't go back tonight ok?"

"Why not?" Harry asked, another flare of anger filling him.

"I dunno really, just that I've got a bad feeling about that Mirror and besides, you've almost been caught a couple of times by Snape and Mrs. Norris...So what if they can't see you with the Cloak. You could still bump into something and then where would you be? The Mirror's trouble, let it be mate."

"You sound like Hermione." Harry snapped.

"I'm serious mate, don't go."

But Harry ignored his friend and managed to sneak out again. He hadn't been gone long enough the night before for Beth to realize he was gone and he promised himself he would only be gone for an hour so she wouldn't worry tonight either.

He made his way into the room holding the Mirror and this time was sure to close the door tightly behind him. He slipped off the Cloak and set it on one of the tables and started for the Mirror, eager to see his family interacting with each other happily with all hurts forgiven. He nearly jumped a mile when he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

"So...back again Harry?"

Harry spun around to find the Headmaster sitting at one of the desks behind him. He realized in his haste to get to the Mirror he hadn't even thought to check if someone was already in the Mirror. He was relieved though, to see that Headmaster Dumbledore was smiling gently at him.

"I um...I didn't see you there sir."

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you." Dumbledore said with a another gentle smile. The professor then stood and walked over to Harry's side by the Mirror and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It seems that you, like many others, have found the Mirror of Erised."

"The Mirror of Erised, sir?"

"Oh yes, that is the trick to this Mirror. To those who have everything they wanted this Mirror will only show their reflection. While those who have a strong desire for something the Mirror then reflects..." Dumbledore trailed off looking down at Harry.

"The Mirror reflects our deepest desire. Oh! Erised is Desire backwards!"

"Very good my boy!" Dumbledore said with a chuckle and then his face went grave. "Many magical folk have become so enraptured with the mirror that they waste away in front of it, starving themselves as their desire for what they see overcomes their reason."

Harry flinched and looked at the ground forcing himself not to look at the Mirror. "I'm sorry sir."

"Nothing to be sorry for my boy. We kept the Mirror in here primarily because it is an unused room. We'll have to move it now." The Headmaster gave Harry's shoulder a small shake causing the boy to look up at him. "I must ask you Harry to not go looking for the Mirror again. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes sir! I promise!"

"That's a good lad. Off to bed now, it is after curfew you know."

Harry nodded and wrapped the Cloak around him and started for the door. He paused and looked back at the Headmaster watching as he flicked took out his wand, conjuring a sheet to wrap the Mirror up in. Harry cleared his throat and asked tentatively.

"Sir, what do you see in the Mirror?"

"Hmm? I? I see myself holding a nice new pair of socks. Every year at Christmas I find myself getting books and new robes, but never a nice pair a woolen socks." The Headmaster smiled gently at Harry.

"Oh. Goodnight sir."

"Goodnight Harry."

Harry flushed realizing he'd asked the older man something very personal. He decided though as he left the room, that just in case, he would definitely remember to get the Headmaster a nice pair of woolen socks for next Christmas.

/*/*-/**/*-*-*-*-

Another chap done!

Review please!


	16. Chapter 16

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(  
Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

/*/*/*/*/*/**/

Chapter 16: A Chocolate Frog and a Friendly Dog

Harry made his way back to his dorm room, still wrapped in his Cloak. He froze once he was next to his bed though, watching as Beth came to check on him poking her head through the bed curtains and then flinched as she pulled back through the curtain with what was obviously a curse word. He quickly slipped off the Cloak and cleared his throat softly causing her to spin around. Her eyes narrowed on him and the Cloak and she pointed to the bed abruptly. He winced again, knowing she was upset and slid the curtain aside and set on the edge of the bed.

"Where did you go?" She asked, arms crossed. "No lies."

"Sorry Beth, I um..." Even now Harry found it hard to tell her about the Mirror and thought that might be part of it's lure. He took a deep breath and looked up at her and told her about finding the Mirror, seeing his parents and his aunt and even the urge he felt to not tell her. She frowned at that and tapped her chin in thought.

"Yet you told young Ronald without feeling any compulsion not to?"

"Yeah."

"If I said to tell your Head of House, now, how does that make you feel?"

Harry blinked and thought about telling Professor McGonagall about the Mirror and felt the same flash of upset and desire to keep the knowledge to himself. He looked up at Beth and shook his head.

"Same as when I thought to tell you, I don't want to. I want to keep it to myself and feel that the Professor wouldn't understand."

"The Mirror of Erised..." Beth shook her head sadly. "It truly is a dangerous artifact. Part of it's trap seems to affect an individual both in ways to draw in another, thus entrapping another person with it's allure and keeping those who would protect you from getting involved. I do wonder if the Mirror is sentient in part to actively entrap someone in such a manner."

"You mean the Mirror can think for itself?"

"Possibly, or at least in part." She sighed and sat down beside him wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I am glad you found the strength to stop hiding this from me Dear Harry. Magical compulsions can be hard to fight, but remember, it is not impossible to fight off such compulsions. If you feel the need to find the Mirror again, tell me, it will help to fully defeat the draw of the Mirror."

Harry nodded at that and put his Cloak away at the bottom of his trunk, resolved not to use it unless necessary. Beth then tucked him in and kissed his forehead.

"No more sneaking about?"

"Not without you at least." Harry said with a tired, but cheeky, grin as he snuggled under the covers.

"Little scamp." Beth laughed and then drew the currents closed with a small tug at his magic. He grinned and then suddenly reached for the Bond and 'tugged' back gently causing Beth to reach through the curtain and flick his ear in response. He fell into a small giggle fit, muffling the sound in his pillow to not disturb the others in the room.

Despite ending the night on a good note with his Imaginary, Harry found himself plagued with nightmares. He would see his parents hit with a sudden flash of green light while his family interacted and then he would watch as his aunt and cousin were chased by a shadowy figure with a high cackling laugh. He would wake crying out and thankfully Beth was always there to comfort him.

On the third night she shook her head and growled to herself as she pulled away from him and held up one hand. He felt a pull from his core and then felt like a warm blanket had been settled around him. Beth's eyes narrowed as little runes appeared in the air and Harry held still. She sighed softly and the runes faded as she gently drew him into her arms.

"What is it?"

"The Mirror. There is a weak tether connecting you to the Mirror. I didn't even think to check for it the other night and I am sorry for my failure. The tether is weakening but as long as it is there the Mirror will 'punish' you for not coming back to it. It is taking your desires and using them against you as nightmares."

"Can you break it?" He asked hopefully and she shook her head.

"The link is almost gone as it is. Another night or two and the nightmares will stop. I would rather it fade naturally due to your will overpowering the tether instead of forcing things as it might cause more harm then good at this point."

"Oh, ok." Harry put on what he hoped was a brave face as he sat up straight. "I'll fight it off. No Mirror is going to get the best of me!"

"That's the spirit!" Beth said with a laugh.

When Harry told Ron about the situation, hoping that his friend was not feeling a 'call' from the Mirror because of him, he was surprised to see Ron shake his head with a small grin.

"Even though it showed me what I wanted, I had a bad feeling about it. Especially when you shoved me 'cause I didn't want to move." Ron shrugged his shoulders. "You're good at sharing, mate, really good. I knew somethin' was wrong when you suddenly wanted to see the thing so badly that you were willing to shove me, you never act like that. I had a small desire to see it again but that faded pretty quickly after I beat Percy at chess a few times. I think it's 'cause I was only in front of the Mirror for a minute or so it couldn't affect me as badly as it did you. I'm really glad Dumbledore found you."

"Me too mate, me too."

Hermione arrived a day before the sprint term started and was equal parts fretful over Harry's adventure and saddened that they hadn't found anything out about Flammel. Harry was more upset that they couldn't find anything about him when he was sure he read something about Flammel earlier in the year.

Things got hectic after that though. Wood got even more fanatic about the next quidditch match that Gryffindor had which would be against Hufflepuff. If they won the match they would be ahead of Slytherin for the House cup for the first time in years. The Twins were raging against their Captain at his ridiculous training hours but Harry found himself eager to practice hard, hoping to win the match for his team. When the Twins started to goof off Harry flinched when Wood started to tear in on them.

"Enough! The BOTH of you! You keep up that kind of stupidity you'll lose us the match! Snape is our referee this match! You know what that means!"

The Twins had been pretending to slip from their brooms, catching themselves at the last moment. At Wood's words George really did fall off his broom, his hand having missed the handle as he slipped to the side. He hit the ground face first and with a groan pushed himself up spitting mud out of his mouth.

"Snape!? Pffh! Snape's refereeing?! Blagh!" Fred handed him a canister of water which he used to rinse out his mouth. "Yuck, mud. How the heck are we going to win with Snape of all people refereeing? He never referee's a match."

Harry went in after that practice match a little bit worried. He knew teachers weren't supposed to favor one house over another or one student but he'd seen it happen before in subtle ways and was worried that Professor Snape might favor a Hufflepuff victory in order to help his own house keep the lead. Ron was playing chess against Hermione. Hermione may have had book smarts but Ron was proving himself to be a genius tactician. Harry moved to sit down by them.

"Don't talk to me for a moment alright Har...Blimey mate what's wrong? You're all pale!"

"Was someone hurt Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly. She didn't much care for quidditch considering how dangerous it could get.

"No no, everyone's fine." Harry said and tried to give them a reassuring smile. "It's just...Professor Snape is going to be the referee and everyone's worried that he's going to favor Hufflepuff for the match."

"Honestly I don't think you should play anymore Harry." Hermione said firmly.

"Yeah if Snape's refereeing you should...wait what?" Ron looked at in shock. "Not play anymore? You mean not play at all don't you!? Why not?!"

"You know I originally thought it was Professor Snape who tried to hurt Harry." Hermione flushed a bit at the memory of having Draco chastise her. "But he wasn't and I didn't see anyone else looking at Harry and muttering, mainly because I didn't think to look. Someone is still out there waiting to hurt Harry. Professor Snape is probably refereeing the match to make sure nothing else happens, he's supposed to be really good at Defense Against the Dark Arts you know and would probably be able to sense harmful magics pretty quickly, but if he is watching over everyone else he still might miss something."

The group fell silent as they thought about the situation. It really would be rather dangerous for Harry at the match. With almost all of the school showing for the match it would be easy for someone to cast a harmful spell without being noticed.

Their thoughts were interrupted as Neville suddenly came toppling into the common room. His legs had been stuck together with a Leg-locker curse. They stood and quickly moved to help the poor boy up as the heard a hissing whisper from the still open portrait hole.

"Hey, cousin!" The group looked out and saw Draco looking around nervously. "Um...the Twins aren't here are they?"

"Not at the moment...no..." Hermione said slowly.

"Good!" Draco sighed in relief and looked around outside again. "They'd kill me for cursing a Gryffindor."

"YOU did this to Neville!?" Ron shouted and Harry was quick to slap his hand over his friends mouth to stop and further tirade.

"Not his fault..." Neville said with a shy smile. "I asked him to show me how to duel..."

"It's forbidden to duel!" Hermione hissed at the two in righteous shock.

"We were using just first year spells...but..." Draco blushed slightly which stood out on his pale skin.

"I um...got in a lucky shot and knocked Draco off his feet..."

"I countered automatically with the Leg-locking curse...Dad taught it to me before school in case I needed to defend myself..." Draco cleared his throat obviously embarrassed. "Anyway there's no counter to it, so it has to wear off on it's own. I helped Longbottom back here, rough going too since I didn't want to get caught."

"Oh Draco..." Hermione sighed in annoyance. "Get in here you idiot and help me with Neville."

Draco bristled at the insult but made his way into the common room and together he and Hermione helped Neville hop over to the couch and sit down. Everyone dropped into a seat, though Draco still looked a bit nervous.

"I shouldn't stay long..." Draco said.

"It's fine. The Twins wont bother you. Honestly though, dueling! I should report BOTH of you to Professor McGonagall! What if he cracked his head open when he fell because of the curse you cast! Or if you hurt him with anything else!"

Draco and Neville both flushed again under Hermione's glare before Draco puffed back up.

"Look, cousin, Longbottom is of one of the more renowned houses. He needs to learn how to defend himself and that crackpot Quriell isn't teaching us a thing! He just rambles and stutters and assigns homework. There's no practical application of spells in the class at all and I've confirmed with Father that we should have started practicing spells after the first month of school finished!"

"We were?" The others all said in surprise.

Draco nodded slowly and crossed his arms.

"While we may not start dueling practice until our second year, we were supposed to be practicing on dummies since the second month of school. I don't know how to conjure a dummy so Longbottom and I agreed to practice a few first year spells in a 'mock' duel. Nothing serious was supposed to be cast but...my reflexes...Longbottom...Neville...I am sorry."

"It's ok Draco." Neville said with a smile. "I didn't hit my head that hard when I fell. And you should be proud of having such quick reflexes! Gran always said that having good reflexes can save your life in a rough spot!"

"You did well yourself to catch me off guard Longbottom." DRaco said with an answering grin.

"Here Nev." Harry took out his last chocolate frog and handed it to the other boy. "Very brave of you to take on a Slytherin." Harry said in in a joking tone that cause the others to laugh and Draco to roll his eyes.

"Thanks Harry!" Neville unwrapped the frog, caught the magiced food mid leap and then broke it up to share between his friends. They all thanks him and nibbled at the chocolate happily.

"Here Harry, I don't collect them. You can have the card if you need it."

Harry took the card with a grateful nod, mouth full of chocolate. He looked it over. It was another Albus Dumbledore, the first card he'd gotten. As he read over the text again he started to swallow his bit of chocolate and immediately started to choke as he tried to let out a shout of surprise mid swallow. His hand went to his throat as he stood up struggling to breathe. He tugged violently on the link to Beth, panicking at the feeling of being unable to breath.

Ron started to bang on his back to try to help him breathe before Hermione let out a shout that Harry couldn't quite make out before she wrapped her arms around him and yanked back. It took a few moments but she managed to dislodge the chunk of chocolate, which went flying through Beth as she rushed through the walls having sensed his pull.

Harry gasped in air desperately, falling to the ground and Beth caught him in her arms. He leaned forward into her grasp as she ran her hand through his hair. He still couldn't hear over the rush of blood in his ears and couldn't make out what she was trying to say. He was pushed back and he blinked at her as she cast her diagnostic's spell on him. His body glowed and he could just make out Hermione's exclamation of amazement. The others were crowded a foot or so away from where he sat. Beth sighed in relief and pulled Harry back into a tight hug before moving him to sit on the couch. Slowly Harry could make out clearly Hermione scolding the boys while trying to keep them back.

"NO! Give him a few more moments to recover! You never crowd someone who's been hurt! He needs some space!"

"But 'Mione...!" Ron started to said and she whipped around to face him finger almost touching his nose and his eyes crossed as he stared at it.

"No buts! Stay put until he says he's ok!"

"S'ok H-cough-Hermione. I'm alright now." Harry tried to smile weakly as he held up the Chocolate Frog card, man his chest hurt like crazy making it hard to speak through his desperate gasps for air. "And I found him -cough- Flammel. Dumbledore worked with -cough- Flammel -cough, cough-"

"Harry stop talking lad!" Beth scolded as Hermione ran and grabbed her glass of water and shoved it into his hands.

"Drink this Harry, slowly and try not to talk!"

"'Mione...Alchemy!" Harry handed her the card and slowly started to sip at the water he was given.

Hermione took the card with an exasperated sound and read over it slowly. Her eyes widened as she read the last of the card and she let out a whoop that startled the others and caused Harry to grin.

"Stay here!" she shouted at the others and then disappeared up into the girls rooms. She came barreling back down carrying a large book and slammed it onto the table.

"I never thought to look in here! I just checked it out for light reading!"

"Light reading?" the boys and Beth echoed, though Hermione didn't hear Beth's incredulity.

"Yes. Ah! Here it is!" She jabbed her finger down on the page triumphantly. "Nicholas Flammel the only know creator of the Sorcerer's Stone! Also known as the Philosopher's stone in the Muggle world! It's properties are to turn any metal into gold and make the elixir of Life which will make the drinker immortal! Oh my!"

"What?"

"Flammel, he is six hundred and sixty-five years old and his wife is six hundred and fifty-eight."

"No wonder we couldn't find him in the recent history books." Harry said, his voice still a bit scraggly.

"And no wonder it's here. Dumbledore is Flammels' friend and a very powerful wizard, he's probably the only one Flammel would trust to keep the stone safe." Ron reasoned.

"You guys think that...Fluffy," At the name Draco sneered. "is guarding this stone?"

"Make's sense. Hargid said that the object Fluffy was guarding was between Dumbledore and Flammel." Ron said and the others nodded.

"Harry, you need to let this go." Beth said firmly. Harry looked up to her with surprise.

"But Beth, if the stone is in danger...!"

"Enough!" Beths voice was firm, "Relay my words Harry, for tis for you and your friends."

Harry winced and nodded slowly, explaining to the others what he was going to do before nodding to Beth and clearing his throat a bit so he could mimic her accent for the others.

"Flammel trusts Dumbledore to protect this Stone. Dumbledore is an Elder of your world and knows many tricks and traps to thwart thieves. The dog is not the only defense, I can assure ye of That to ease yer worry. Trust in yer Elders to protect the Stone and let your focus be on your studies and your games. Ye are Children! Do Not put yourself into needless danger just so you can appease your need for adventure! Else a swat and time out await you!"

"We're not little kids!" Draco said indignantly and Ron started nodding and then stopped, not wanting to agree with his 'not friend'.

"Ye act like thoughtless wee ones, ye'll be treated just the same." Her accent becoming thicker as she spoke.

The group all sulked a bit and while Harry understood that Beth was just trying to protect them that didn't mean he had to like it. Neville himself was beet-red holding his hands open in front of him palms up. Harry wondered at that for a moment before the boy stood, his legs finally unlocked and smiled weakly at the others.

"I'm...going to go to bed guys. I'll behave ma'am." Neville said to where Harry was looking. "G'night."

A chorus of 'good nights' followed the boy up the stairs and Harry took a moment to look at the time. It was not yet curfew and he didn't feel like being stuck inside. He let the others know he was going for a walk and Draco moved to follow him out of the dorm. Harry turned to head for the main doors and Draco gave him a friendly punch to the arm that he returned as the blonde boy headed down for the dungeons.

Harry slipped outside and took a deep breath of the chilled air. He smiled slightly to himself as he looked around. It wasn't full dark just yet and the sky looked lovely. He looked towards the lake where the giant squid was waving it's arms around, throwing something every now and then. He blinked, trying to figure out what it was doing and decided to walk over.

He found the squid throwing a large stick for a huge black dog. Harry moved a bit closer but kept his distance watching the two animals as the dog chased down the stick and brought it back for the squid to throw. Harry couldn't place the dogs breed. It looked like it might be part irish wolfhound but several things stood out of place. One it was larger then a normal wolfhound and two the tail didn't look right. Harry knew a little about dogs as Aunt Marge was a dog breeder and she still visited from time to time. Aunt Petunia didn't blame Marge for her brothers actions, and Harry did his best to pay attention when the older woman went on and on about her dogs and what made a pureblood hound.

The dog looked to be a little underfed but otherwise his coat was brushed nicely. His gait as he ran was smooth and even. Harry then noticed during one of the dogs passes that there was a basket of some sort near the water, but he didn't see any sign of a person or student. He moved a little closer and the dog stopped suddenly having caught his scent. The large dog let out what Harry could only assume was a joyous baying and rushed over to him. The dog skidded to a halt in front of him and then raised up placing it's, his Harry saw, paws on his shoulders and started licked at his cheeks happily causing Harry to laugh.

"Hey now! Easy big boy! Down!" Harry said while still laughing.

The dog dropped down easily enough and panted happily at him before suddenly seeming to remember something. The dog then turned and ran over to the basket. The Giant Squid let out a odd moaning sound holding out the large stick, a branch really, to the dog who barked back in what Harry swore was apologetic. The Squid let out another groaning sound and sloshed back into the water, leaving the stick behind. The dog then picked up the basket and brought it over to Harry holding it out for the boy to take.

"Is this for me boy?" Harry could have sworn the dog shot him a look that screamed 'Of course it is. Don't be dense!' before he had the basket shoved into his arms. He laughed. "Alright, alright. I get it!"

Harry gripped the basket firmly and then sat down, the large dog laying down next to him practically curling around him. Harry found he was grateful as the air was getting a bit colder. He looked into the basket and saw several bars of Honeydukes chocolate, Chocolate Frogs, a letter and a picture frame. The frame caught his eye most of all and he picked it up slowly, his eyes blurring.

The photo inside was a wizarding photo and within was his parents, James and Lily Potter as well as Moony and Padfoot whom he recognized from the trial. Both of the other men looked healthier then when he'd seen them and all of them were waiving happily at him from the frame. He wished for a long moment that the photo was spelled to speak like the painting in Hogwarts. A whine caught his attention and he looked up to get a doggy kiss to his cheek. He reached up and patted the dogs side.

"I'm alright boy. It's just good to see them." He said softly. The dog seemed to nod and settled his muzzle on Harry's leg.

He set the photo back into the basket and took out the letter and opened it and started reading it.

'Dear Harry,

Hey Prongslet, hope your doing well. I got your response letter and wanted to send you something now that I can. The big guy bringing you this package is a good friend, his name is Padfoot and he'll be visiting...'

Harry broke off with a start and re-read that part of the letter aloud.

"'His name is Padfoot'...?!"

'Padfoot' raised his head and woofed in question to Harry as the boy stared at the dog. He knew about Animagi, Professor McGonagall showed off that particular skill within the first few days of school. She also warned of the inherent dangers of learning the ability and advised that only a student strong in will and with good study skills would become an Animagi. He also knew, from Moony and the others that his godfathers nickname was 'Padfoot' and he didn't think, hoped really, that his godfather was not egotistical enough to name a dog after himself. He schooled his face in what he hoped was a stern look before waving his fingers in front of the dogs nose.

"Padfoot is Sirius's nickname and I have a feeling that you 'Padfoot' are Sirius!"

Harry thought to himself as the dog looked at him that if his godfather had gone with a normal doggy look of confusion instead of trying to look as innocent as possible that he might have been able to trick Harry. As it was the 'innocent' look he was given was so over the top that Harry burst into laughter and hugged his 'dogfather'.

"Your really bad at that! You're supposed to be in St. Mungos' still! Why are you here?"

Padfoot huffed at him, looking around and then nudging the letter with his nose. Harry turned back to the letter.

'...be visiting you on occasion through the year to make sure you're doing well. If you're as brilliant and clever as your parents I'm sure you've figured out my prank by now Prongslet.

I'm not as bad as the nurses seem to think after my time in Azkaban. Dementors only affect and hunt humans, keep that in mind now with my prank and you can see why I would be a little stir-crazy with all their well meaning tripe.

Moony himself knows that I'm not as bad off but wants me to stay to keep up appearances and behave myself as much as possible. I'm allowed to 'visit' Black Manor under Moony's supervision once a month for a few days at a time, place is a mess but we're trying to clean it up, anyway the whole point is to 'get me used to society again', so that'll be around the time that my dog will come to Hogwarts with some gifts for you.

Well enough on that! Congrats on being Seeker! Your father was a top rate Chaser back in our school days. I remember when we first got a junior broom for you, you went wizzing about like little hellion and gave your mother quite the start when you zoomed between her legs at the highest speed that little broom could go.

Your parents loved you deeply Prongslet, don't you ever doubt that. And I'm sorry too that I went off half-cocked after Peter, I should have stayed and waited for Dumbledore and the other members of the Order, I'll tell you more about them when you're a bit older. I hope you can forgiven me for my rash actions that may have cost you a good home. Lily and her sister didn't exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things. She's treating you well right? You tell me if she isn't and I'll make sure Padfoot visits her for a little scare.

Anyway, love you Prongslet. You be good and if you get into any mischif remember, don't get caught.

ps: you would not BELIEVE how good a scratch behind the ears really is.'

Harry laughed softly and reached over to scratch Padfoot behind the ear causing the Animagus to whimper in pure pleasure.

"Thanks Padfoot, I'm glad my Godfather is doing well. And Aunt Petunia is nice, she's a bit more toward tough love but she takes care of me and Dudders."

That got a head tilt and a curious whine.

"Dudders, my cousin Dudley." Padfoot nodded. "Anyway she divorced Uncle Vernon, so she's Ms. Evans again and don't forget it, she'll get really mad if you do." Another nod. "Things are going well but..."

Harry told him everything that had happened through the year, from the broom incident to his Cloak to the Mirror and Dumbledore finding him as well as the nightmares. Harry was glad he was able to get it all. It really did help to talk about things with someone, even if that someone couldn't talk back at the moment. After he finished Padfoot whined and snuggled in close and Harry hugged him tight.

"Well...I need to get back before curfew. Thanks for the visit. Will you be here for the next few days then?"

Harry got an affirmative bark and he smiled and waved as his dogfather darted off toward Hagrid's hut. Harry thought to himself that despite how rough the day had been it definitely ended on a good note with his Godfathers visit.

*/-/*/*-/*-*-*-

Yay another chappy done!  
review!


	17. Chapter 17

Harry Potter and the Imaginary Friend

Disclaimers: do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters. :(

Beth and any other IF however are mine :)

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Chapter 17: Hagrid's folly.

The match with Hufflepuff arrived a little faster then Harry wanted it to. Because of the stress and worry for the match, mostly being caused by his team mates antics and panic concerning Professor Snape being the referee, it was he could barely eat breakfast, just a few pieces of toast because he was so nervous. He took to looking at the photo of his parents, Moony and Padfoot as a way to calm his frayed nerves. The picture and it's frame wasn't very large, half the size of a small paper book. He was sorely tempted to slip in into his pocket for match but was worried about breaking it. He lit on an idea several minutes before the match and rushed to find Professor Flitwick, Beth going on ahead to the pitch. He was able to find the professor heading for his classroom, he must have had a lot of work to take care of if he was going to miss a match.

"Professor! Professor Flitwick!" Harry called, skidding to a stop near the older man. Bracing his hands against his knees he gasped for breath.

"Easy there Harry, breathe slowly." The kindly Professor told him firmly. Harry took in several deep and slow breaths at the Professors prompting before the older man nodded. "Much better. Now what's the hurry, my boy?"

"Sir, can you cast any kind of protection charm on this?" Harry took out the small frame from his pocket and held it out so the Professor could see it. "I don't want anything to happen to it while..." He broke off with a blush thinking it might be a little silly to have a lucky charm during a match.

"Wanting to use it as a good luck charm during the match?" Flitwick nodded with a sad smile as he looked over the photo. "I can definitely understand, you'd be surprised how many players actually keep something on them during a match." Harry hadn't known that and was a bit relieved that he wasn't the only one. "I can put a temporary charm on it for the moment but it will only last for an hour. Anything else would take longer preparation and you don't want to be late for your match."

"Thanks sir!" Harry said as the professor cast the charm and handed the frame back. "I'll keep the time in mind!"

Harry then rushed through the halls and outside to the pitch. He arrived just barely in time, his team was looking around frantically for him. He stuffed the small picture and its frame into his robe and skidded to a stop in front of his team. He smiled hesitantly.

"Sorry that I'm late!"

"Never mind that now!" Wood said in exasperation. "On your brooms! All of you!"

With that order Wood mounted his broom and flew onto the field, Harry and the others on his heels. Harry looked over the crowd and was surprised to see the Headmaster sitting with the other staff that had shown for the game. Harry had to stifle a laugh at the sight of the headmasters hat which was a stripped affair of red and gold with black polka dots here and there representing both teams with it's...unique ...design.

Despite the others worry that Professor Snape would rule in favor of Hufflepuff, the match started off very well. Harry and the hufflepuff seaker were both keeping an eye out for the snitch but the majority of the action was happening with the others. Harry noticed that when Snape called out a foul for either side he was equally caustic in his admonishments to the players. Fred and George both tried to fight him on one particular foul, one of the twins had hit the bludger in Snapes general direction without meaning to, and earned a free shot for the Hufflepuff team and a warning to be mindful of their surroundings if they wanted to continue to play. Ever.

Harry dismissed the antics of the others and started to look around again for the Snitch. He kept half an eye on the others and for the Bludgers. A glance at the Hufflepuff Seeker helped him relax as they hadn't caught sight of the Snitch. He zipped back and forth across the pitch trying to keep an eye out for the nooks and crannies the Snitch might hide away in. Glancing back to the others he froze in shock as he realized the Snitch was hiding right next to Professor Snape!

Careful moments of observation showed that the Snitch was staying in the Professors' shadow and flitted carefully around his movements to remain as close as it could to the man without brushing against him. Harry flitted around carefully trying not to give away the fact that he'd seen the Snitch. He rose up a good fifteen feet above the others and kept 'looking around'. He'd have to time his strike carefully or he'd hit the easily irritated Professor.

He was almost directly above the Professor now. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he went into a sudden dive with his hand outstretched. The Snitch realised a second too late that Harry had found it but still tried flee. Harry zoomed past Snape and moments later his hand closed around the golden ball. He pulled out of his dive with a yell of elation.

The team rushed over, barreling into him and wrapping him in one-armed hugs as they shouted their victory cries. Harry lowered himself to the ground and the others followed all chattering happily in his ear. Glancing around he saw Professor Snape staring at him white-lipped. He started to move in the Professors only to be stopped by the Headmaster.

"Very well done my boy!" His voice lowered to where only Harry could hear him. "So good to see that you aren't brooding over the mirror."

Harry nodded in response and glanced around. Beth was at the edge of the pitch avoiding the crowd and Professor Snape was stalking back toward the castle. Harry managed to wiggle away from the crowd and rushed after the Professor. Beth followed him at a more sedate pace, as the pitch was a part of the castle property she didn't have to rush to keep up with him. The Professor was almost to the door by the time Harry caught up enough that he hoped the older man would hear him.

"Professor Snape!" Harry called, the older man turned to him face slowly with a stoney glare.

"What do you Want, Mr. Potter?" Snape ground out through clenched teeth causing Harry to fidget nervously.

"Um...I just...I..."

"Spit it out Mr Potter, I do Not have all Day!" Snape's eyes flickered darkly in the shadowed light.

"Ah, sorry sir! Just wanted to make sure I didn't clip you sir! When I dived to catch the snitch?" He held out the snitch for the professor to see, keeping a firm grasp on it so it didn't escape.

"No, you didn't Clip me with your _harebrained_, _half_-_witted_, _d__eath-seeking_ dive." Snape sniffed, still looking exceptionally annoied and yet somehow also looking like he'd relaxed slightly, the dark look had faded from his eyes though his face still looked harsh and cold. In fact his eyes flashed in what Harry would almost say was confusion or surprise.

"Now get that _thing_ back to the pitch before you _lose _it." Snape snapped. "A Snitch is _not_ an inexpensive item that we can afford to loose due to _childish_ _antics_. That is why it stays in the _box_ or in the _pitch_, _understood_ Mr. Potter?"

"Yes sir!" Harry smiled brightly at the Professor which caused the older mans brow to twitch.

The Professor turned away muttering under his breath and he started stalking toward the castle doors again. Harry turned and rushed back toward the pitch to give the Snitch back to Wood. The others were still celebrating the victory but the twins and Wood managed to pull away from the excitement to meet Harry halfway.

"Heya Harry..." George started.

"Why'd you go tearing off..." Fred continued.

"After Professor Snape?" They finished together. Harry laughed when Beth face-palmed and walked a good distance away from the group to avoid further twin-speak.

"I had to dive right past him in order to catch the Snitch..." Harry handed the Snitch to Wood who took it with a nod and a 'Well done Harry.' before moving to put it away. Harry noticed that the Hufflepuff Beaters were still in the air.

"Wanted to make sure I didn't clip him during the dive." Harry finished and then pointed to the Hufflepuff Beaters. "Why are they still up there?"

The twins looked in the direction Harry was pointing and then shrugged and looked back to him.

"Standard tradition..."

"Loosing teams beaters..."

"Have to be the ones..."

"To corral and catch..."

"The bludgers!" Again they finished together.

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense."

Harry followed the rest of his team back to the locker room. Slipping off his robes he waited for the others to wander off before slipping out the photo of his parents and their friends. He smiled down at the waving images.

"Hey mum, dad." He said softly. "I caught the Snitch and won the game for Gryfindor!"

Harry knew that photos and paintings could be specially charmed to either loop a particular event, interact with those looking at the photos based on the personality of the person whose picture was taken, unable to speak but still able to show visual clues that they were able to understand what was said, or even speak and act as a particular person would have done in real life. His eyes widened in joy as he realised that the photo he held was one of the second category as the image of his father threw his mom into the air (something that hadn't happened before) and caught her while Moony and Padfoot were sharing a hi-five and then shooting Harry a thumbs up.

He realized a few moments later that he was crying when a stray droplet fell on the glass of the frame. He wiped at his eyes and gave the photo a watery grin. He saw his mothers hand reach out and her lips moved. 'It's okay baby' he thought she said. He nodded and tried to sit a little straighter. He felt Beth sit down next to him and wrap an arm around him but didn't look away from the photo.

"They understand me." He said softly to his Imaginary.

"I can see that. Where did you get the photo?" She asked kindly.

"Padfoot sent it to me."

"A kindly gift." Beth sighed and tightened her arm around him in a small hug. "You do know to remember that this is only an echo of them?"

"Yeah, but it's still nice. Do you think..." Harry took a slow breath and looked up at Beth. "do you think that if their echo hears what I say that their real spirit hears it too?"

"Dear Harry, I have little concrete information about my worlds afterlife, let alone your own. We have our ghosts, same as yours, but why some become ghosts and some do not? Or if those who do not remain can hear us or if they move on to their next life, if there is a next life, right after they die?" Beth shrugged. "I cannot say for certain, but I'd like to think that maybe, just maybe, that the ones we lose stay long enough to make sure those of us left behind will be okay."

"I like that thought too." Harry leaned in against Beth watching the photo with a small sad smile.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Harry finally put away his photo and grabbed his broom to take it back to the shed. Beth had gone back toward the castle, he'd only be a few minutes anyway so he'd be fine by himself. He'd just opened the door to the broom shed when he caught sight of a hooded form leaving the castle.

He recognized the the gliding walk of Professor Snape and carefully ducked behind the shed to watch him. He was making a beeline for the forbidden forest, alone. He was heading for a very dangerous location by himself. Harry slipped onto his broom and rose straight into the air, trying to stay high enough out of sight so he wouldn't be spotted, worry filling him as he tried to keep line of sight on the professor.

He flew over the forest trying to keep well above any danger(they said not to go into the forest, nothing about going OVER the forest, he reasoned), keeping an eye out for the Professor, which was hard to do through the thick canopy, but he heard voices and carefully flew to land on one of the thicker branches of a tree as close to the top as he could.

Harry was surprised to see both Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell standing in the shadowed clearing. Harry was careful to keep his balance and leaned forward to listen.

"...d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..."

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private." Professor Snape said, his voice cold as ice. Harry shivered not wanting that particular tone Ever directed at him. "Students are not supposed to know about the Sorcerers Stone, after all."

Harry blinked a bit in surprise and leaned forward a little more. He couldn't quite catch what Professor Quirrell was saying since he was muttering softly. Professor Snapes voice cut the stuttering Professor off sharply.

"Have you found a way to get past that beast of Hagrid's?"

"B-b-but Severus, I-"

"You do not want me as your enemy Quirrell." Said the taller professor, taking a threatening step toward the other man and causing him to flinch back.

"I-I don't know what you-"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

There was a loud owl hoot from close by Harry that caused him to start and almost fall from his perch. As it was his photo fell from his pocket and bounced down to the ground and into a bush. Professor Snape glanced toward the bush with a frown and then turned immediately back to Quirrell. Harry gulped and mounted his broom swiftly he moved to another tree branch carefully away from where the photo fell. He'd retrieve it after the two left. He tuned back into the conversation with a frown.

"-your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting." Snape was saying.

"B-but I d-don't..."

"Very well." Snape cut off the other Professor once more. "We'll have another little chat soon, When you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie. Now go."

Quirrell stuttered something too softly for Harry to make out and darted back off toward the castle. Harry waited for a few moments for the other Professor to follow and gulped in worry when he realized the tall man was looking around the clearing carefully. Professor Snape made his way over to the bush where his photo and it's frame fell and bent to search around the bush. Harry bit his lip hoping that the older man would not find the photo.

His hopes were not answered as he saw the older man stand straight frame in hand. Snape brushed off a few twigs and turned the photo over. Harry could clearly see Snapes face go blank of emotion. Snape raised a shaking hand to brush a finger over the spot where Harry knew his mother stood. He took a slow shaking breath before a look of anger flashed across his face.

"Fool of a Potter!"

Snape twisted around to search the clearing and then the upper branches of the trees. Harry carefully ducked back and held his breath hoping to stay of out sight.

"Hmm. Probably fled as soon as he dropped the frame." He heard Snape mutter.

Harry peeked his head out and watched as the Professor stalked back for the castle. He rose up on his broom and started off for the castle. not the main doors but for one of the windows. Checking through the window he saw that the coast was clear and darted for the Gryfindor common room as swiftly as he could. Once inside the common room he saw everyone cheering and talking to each other about the victory. He had just enough time to hide his broom under the couch and stand back up before Hermione saw him and rushed over.

"Harry where have you been?" Hermione said worry in her voice.

Harry glanced around to see if Beth was present and relaxed as he realized the wild crowd would have driven her to avoid the common room. He turned to answer Hermione when Ron suddenly wrapped an arm around him and started shouting happily.

"We won!" Ron shouted again and again, bouncing on his toes. Harry laughed and carefully drew the two off into a corner.

"Look you two, I have something to share."

"Does it have something to do with why you're just Now showing up?" Hermione said crossing her arms. Harry winced and nodded.

He then proceeded to explain what had happened, how he had just been looking at the photo of his family, seeing Professor Snape, following him. Hermione scolded him about the dangers of the forest for a good minute before he was able to continue.

"Well. At least we have proof without a doubt that it Is the Sorcerers Stone. I mean your Friend all but confirmed it for us when she scolded us, but it's nice to know for certain."

"But why would Snape be threatening Quirrell?" Ron frowned. "I know that your Aunt and Draco both said that we can trust Snape but this isn't looking good."

"I know." Harry said with a sigh. "I'm a bit confused myself. I feel like we're missing something."

There was a sudden bang at the portrait that caught their attention. Most everyone kept on partying but Percy moved over to check the 'door'. He came back looking grim faced and looked around. Spotting Harry he walked over. Harry gulped fearfully.

"Oh no. I forgot for a moment. I dropped the photo of my parents and the Professor found it."

Hermione and Ron shared a fearful look and then looked back at Harry.

"Well...mate it's been nice knowing you."

"RON!" Hermione hissed at the red head, her hands twining nervously.

Before Ron could say anything else Percy was in earshot. Harry took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Professor Snape wants to talk to you."

"Yeah. Um...You guys enjoy the party okay?" Harry tried to smile reassuringly at his two friends.

Percy led him to the portrait hole and to Snape who was standing outside with his arms crossed. His face was blank of all emotion those his eyes were dark with anger. Harry flinched and glanced around swiftly, very glad that Beth was not around, he really didn't need a double lecture.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley, you're dismissed. Mr. Potter, follow me." With that the professor stalked off down the stairs and Harry rushed to follow him. He was led down to the potions room and instructed to take a seat. He glanced toward where the snake he'd found normally sat and saw that he was missing. Professor Snape noticed his worried look and snorted.

"Mr. Malfoy has taken the snake as his familiar." He said stiffly which caused Harry to let out a sigh of relief, that twisted into a gasp of surprise as his photos frame was slammed onto the table in front of him. He could see Moony and Padfoot looking up at him in worry, his father looked a bit embarrassed and his mothers arms were crossed and she had the same look of disappointment in her eyes that he'd seen in Aunt Petunia's when he'd done something exceptionally foolish. "You recognise this yes?" Snapes voice was the same, oily, angry tone that Harry had heard him use on Quirrell.

"Y-yes sir..." Harry said meekly.

"I should have you _Expelled_!" Snape hissed leaning in close. "Children are warned not to go into the Forbidden Forest without adult supervision for a _Reason_!"

"I'm sorr-" Snape cut him off.

"Yes, expelled would be appropriate! Better that then _Dead_! We haven't had a student death in almost fifty years and yet you seem bent on marring the school name!" The Professor turned away with a growl. "Why we keep allowing such _dunderheads _into this school I will never understand!"

"Sir." Harry said after a moment. "I was just worried."

"Worried?!" Snape turned back around with an incredulous look on his face. "You idiot, what could you have been Worried about!?"

"You sir."

Snape face went blank again before he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"In Merlins name, _Why_?"

"Because...the forest is dangerous sir...and you went in by yourself. You should have someone to watch your back..."

"And you felt that you, a First Year student, would be able to be of assistance if I ran into danger? Typical Gryfindor!" Snape voice was raising again and Harry flinched. "You would have been nothing but a Liability! Foolish Potter Arrogance thinking that you can play the Hero!"

"As if Quirrell's any use!" Harry snapped suddenly, upset with being called a liability. He realized what he'd just given away and slammed a hand over his mouth.

Snape went still, his eyes fierce and cold as he looked Harry over.

"What did you hear? Speak!"

"N-nothing much sir! I mean I heard something about a stone and a...and Hagrid..but that's all! Please don't turn me into a toad!" Harry squeaked, hoping that the older man wouldn't realize that Harry knew quite a bit more then he was letting on.

Snape's brow started twitching and Harry caught a faint flicker of humor. He recognised it from earlier points in the year when the professor was hiding his amusement and he relaxed slightly. He wondered for a moment what he'd said that would have been funny and then found himself blushing realizing he sounded like Sam when Gandalf caught him in the hedges. Harry let out a small squeaking laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah...that...was silly sir...sorry." Harry reached out and picked up the photo. He watched it for several long moments and then looked back up at the Professor.

"I don't understand everything that's going on sir, I was raised muggle so there is so much that's new to me. But I was concerned, I stayed on my broom and up near the tree tops, but I just wanted to make sure you'd be okay."

Snape sighed darkly and rubbed at his nose again. Harry caught him muttering under his breath.

"Lily's kindness with Potter's hairbrained Gryfindor idiocy. Bloody hell."

Finally the older man straightened and looked down at him with a glare that froze him in the spot.

"Fifty points from Gryfindor and you are to spend every evening here cleaning cauldrons. For the next _Month_. If you are found to have been in the Forbidden Forest again Mr. Potter I will put forth a recommendation to the Headmaster for you to be expelled. Understood?"

"Yes sir! Um, sir?"

"What now?"

"Will you be telling the Headmaster, sir?"

"Of course, point loss and the reason why does need to be reported to the Headmaster."

"Oh."

"It's up to the Headmaster however if he notifies your family."

Harry blanched and hoped that the Headmaster wouldn't send a letter to his Aunt. He then stood up slowly and glanced to the back where the days spare cauldrons lay in the sink. He carefully set down the photo and moved toward the sink pulling his sleeves up.

"What are you doing?" Snape asked.

"Um...you said I'd be cleaning the cauldrons every night? I better start now if I'm going to get to the tower before lights out." Harry said with a blink and a glance back to the stunned professor. "No magic, right?"

"Correct and use the dragon-hide gloves."

Harry found the gloves in question and started in on the cauldrons working on sorting the cauldron sizes first before starting with the smaller ones, he'd called the Professor over on occasion just to be sure he didn't miss any build up, but otherwise remained focused on his chores. About the time he started in on the middle ones Beth's voice startled him.

"Looks like you've gotten yourself into quite the pickle."

Not expecting her to show up he yelped and dropped the gold cauldron he'd been holding on his foot, which causing him to yelp again in pain. Snape stalked over.

"What in the world are you doing?! Those are delicate!"

"Sorry sir, Beth startled me."

"Hmm. Does she know why you are in here?" Snape asked slyly and Harry's eyes widened. Beth shook her head at the question.

"N-no sir..."

"Ah...final punishment Mr. Potter. Inform her of the 'why'."

"...Bugger."

"HARRY!"

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The weeks that followed were simple enough. Harry found himself cleaning cauldrons every night and then writing an essay on both his language and to not follow adults into dangerous areas without their knowledge. He found himself very grateful that the Headmaster hadn't sent word to his aunt about his little adventure as he wasn't sure he could handle punishments from three fronts.

Draco was content with his new pet, he'd chased down Harry to ask if the snake already had a name(He did, Xerxes) and also to make sure that the snake felt comfortable with the platnium-blonde student. Xerxes was actually quite happy with his new human. He had been owned by another student at one point, who was now graduated, but had been left behind to fend for himself. It didn't help that his old human didn't feed him properly either. Hermione was in tears when Harry relayed that to the others and threatened Draco with bodily harm if he even Thought of doing such a thing to the young snake. Ron was still a bit weirded out by Harry's ability to speak with snakes but was coming to relax a little more whenever he did so.

They tried to put their heads together on the Stone and focused on trying to figure out Professor Snape's and Professor Quirrell's involvement with the situation but things fell short the closer it got to the easter holidays. Hermione started to panic about the exams that were coming up, ten weeks down the line. All three boys tried to talk her out of her panicked study plans to no avail. Draco and Harry both decided to study with the girl while Ron did his best to disappear, only to be caught by the other two boys and dragged along for the study sessions. Beth took to patrolling the halls while they were studying as she didn't have much else to do, least not to Harry's knowledge.

"Ruddy 'ell mate." Ron said to Harry one day, frustrated. "I'm not going to remember all this!"

Harry just smiled at him and went back to looking at his current book. He started a bit at a shout that suddenly sounded from Ron.

"Hagrid! What are you doing here?"

Hermione, Harry and Draco all looked up at that, surprised to see the half-giant anywhere but the forest he loved or the great hall. They saw Hagrid hiding something behind his back.

"Jus' lookin." He said in a tone that caught the full attention of all four students. "An' what're you lot up ter?" His voice took on a stern tone as he looked over the four. "Yer not still lookin fer Nicholas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh no!" Ron said, puffing up slightly with a grin, his tone taking on a 'look what we did' air. "We figured that out Ages ago! AND we know about what your dogs guarding! It's guarding the-"

Draco came out of the shocked stuper at Ron's blatant show-off additude and slammed his hand over the red-heads mouth and hissed at the boy just as Hagrid started to shush him.

"You Gryfindor idiot you don't go shouting about secret things!"

"Shhhhhh! Don't go shoutin' 'bout it, what's the matter with yeh?"

Draco and Hagrid shared a surprised look that they'd been thinking along the same lines before breaking eye contact with a echoing 'humph!' that had Harry and Hermione hiding smiles behind their hands. They knew the two still didn't like each other but they were starting to not be quite so standoffish with the other. Harry cleared his throat and spoke softly so as not to attrack attention.

"We had a few questions actually Hagrid, about what else other then fluffy is being done to protect the Sto-"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid said again dispite Harrys attempt to speak softly. "Look, come by an' see me later. I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anything mind yeh, but don't go rabbitin' it 'round here! Student's aren't supposed ter know. They'll think I told yeh!"

Harry nodded in response. "Alright, we'll see you later then."

Hagrid left in a hurry after that and Ron finally shoved Draco's hand away from his mouth. Instead of tearing in on the blonde like Harry expected he looked to where Hagrid had been.

"What was he hiding behind his back?"

The others shared a look and shrugged. Hermione looked thoughtful.

"Do you think he was looking up information on the Stone?" She asked softly.

"I'm gonna check the section he was in." Ron stated and he stood up, throwing his quill down and darted into the aisle Hagrid had been in. Draco sighed.

"Sometimes he's like a pitt bull."

"Nah...more like a mule. More stubborn." Harry said with a grin. Hermione sniffed and grinned.

"No he's more stubborn then a non-magical animal, like a-"

"Dragons!" Ron shouted, rushing over with a stack of books in his arms, all with 'dragon' in the title.

"Huh, Hagrid did mention at one point while we were talking that he'd love the chance to raise a dragon."

"It's against our laws though." Ron said with a shrug. "Was outlawed during the Wizards Convention of 1709, everyone knows that."

"Indeed," Draco said with a frown and twirled his quill. "it was becoming too much of a hassle to obliviate the knowledge if someone had a dragon that got loose."

"That and they aren't really tamable, you should see the burns my brother Charlie has gotten from the dragons in Romania!"

"Right, your brother is a dragon handler."

"There...aren't any wild dragons in Britan are there?" Harry asked.

"Of course not." Hermione said firmly before suddenly looking uncertain and looking to the other two boys. "Right?"

"Of course there are." Ron said.

"Yes, Common Welsh Greens and Hebridean Blacks." Draco nodded.

"Ministry of Magic has a job keeping it quiet let me tell you. Have to keep putting spells on muggles who have spotted them in order to keep them secret."

With that food for thought Harry and Hermione riffled through some of the dragon books Ron had brought over before dismissing them and turning back to their studies.

An hour later the four found themselves outside of Hagrid's hut, sans Beth none of them wanted her to know that they'd still hadn't dropped the subject, knocking on the door to be let in. Draco had had the wisdom to raid the kitchens before coming so they had cakes and chilled fruit snacks to share with each other and with Hagrid. Hagrid let them in after confirming it was them and swiftly shut the door behind them.

The room was stiffling hot. Hagrid had his fireplace going despite it being such a warm day. Hagrid offered them some tea and sandwiches and they declined. In turn they offered the chilled snacks to the half-giant and he accepted. They all enjoyed the chilled fruit snacks which helped counter the heat.

"So, yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" Hagrid asked as he finished off his share.

"Yes." Harry said. "Would you be able to tell us what else is guarding the Stone other then Fluffy?"

"Can't." Hagrid said with a frown. "Even if I did know I wouldn' tell yeh, and I don' know. Stone's here fer a good reason though. Almost got stolen outta Gringotts. S'ppose yeh figured that out too?"

"I'd Thought that might have been tied to the Stone." Draco said. The others blinked at him having not realized that the attempted theft at Gringotts would have been tied to the stone but it did make sense.

"'Sides, I'm still tryin' to figure out how yeh found out 'bout Fluffy."

"Oh Hagrid, don't try to fool us." Hermione said with a sweet, flattering tone. "You might not Want to tell us, but you Do know, you know Everything that goes 'round here." They saw a faint smile appear and Hagrid sat a touch straighter in his chair. "We really only wanted to know who had Done the guarding really. Who else, other then yourself, that Headmaster Dumbledore would trust with such an important object."

"Well. I s'ppose it wouldn' hurt to tell yeh That. Ya know I let him borrow Fluffy. Then some o' the teachers cast enchantments...Professor Sprot...Professor Flitwick...Professor McGonagall..." He was ticking on each one on his fingers. "Professor Quirrell and then Professor Dumbledore himself. Oh! An' Professor Snape."

"So Quirrell and Snape?" Harry said thoughtfully.

"Yer not still on about Professor Snape are yeh?"

"No no!" Harry said with raised hands. "Just trying to figure something out is all. I want to make sure the Stone stays safe too."

"Hagrid?" Hermione asked in a concerned tone. "You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy right? No one else knows?"

"Nah, jus' meself and Dumbledore."

Draco nudged Harry with a frown and leaned close.

"Why are you so concerned with Quirrell and Snape?" He asked softly.

"Ya know how I lost those points and had to clean cauldrons?" Draco nodded. "I'd overheard Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell talking. I think it was about the enchanments cause they mentioned figuring out how to get past Fluffy. I know you said to trust Snape but it's really suspicious."

"That...kind of...is a bit suspiscious." Draco said with a frown as he leaned back in his chair.

"You're not automatically going to defend him?" Harry asked in surprised, Draco waved a hand.

"Hermione didn't have her facts straight, accused him when she knew that both jynx and counter needed eye contact, That's why I was upset. You actually heard him talking about getting past...Fluffy. I'm a Slytherin. We always try to see all the angles, and we're missing something important here."

Harry would have said something further when Hermione's shocked and incredulous voice filled the small hut.

"Hagrid...What's That?!"

Hermione was pointing toward the fire and all three boys followed her finger and let out various gasps of surprise. At the very heart of the fire was a big black egg.

"A dragons egg..." The boys all said at once.

"Ah...er..." Hagrid was fiddling nervously with his beard.

"Where did you Get it? It must have cost a fortune!"

"Won it." Hagrid said, pride in his voice. "Las' night in the village. Shared a game o' cards with a bloke. Think he was glad ter be rid o' it actually."

"Of Course he'd be glad to be rid of it." Draco said with awe. "That's a Norwegian Ridgeback egg!"

"Tha' it is Draco!" Hagrid reached over to stoke the fire. "You know yer dragons."

"Actually I know because the fine is huge if you're caught with it." Draco said softly enough for only the others to hear.

"Hagrid...you need to get rid of it." Hermione said fearfully.

"Why would I go an' do that?" Hagrid said.

"You live in a Wooden House Hagrid." She said looking worriedly around.

The boys all shared a glance and a grimace. This wasn't going to end well at all.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Yay! 'nother chappie!


	18. Chapter 18

I want to thank everyone for their reviews and their views. It's kind of humbling to realize that there are people out there even in Germany or Thailand that have viewed my story.

I've been hopeful that I'm keeping to a similar enough style of writing to JK. Rowling while spinning a yarn that would be unique on it's own. I hope I've been able to pull that off for you. There are only a few more chapters left for the 'sorcerer's stone' and then there will be some 'intermission' chapters before moving on to the Chamber of Secrets.

If there is anything you'd like to see done, I'm up to hearing any possible suggestions. Review or PM me and I'll look over things!

: Thank you I'm glad you are enjoying things.

Hyena-Sennin: Thanks!

ruby2360: I do hope you continue to enjoy

Anon: Thank you for letting me know a chapter went missing. I hate it when they run off like that!

Without further ado! Next Chappie!  
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Chapter 18: Of Brainiacs and Dragons.

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With yet one more thing to worry about, Harry and the others tried their best to convince Hagrid to hand over the dragons egg to the Headmaster. When they weren't trying to convince the Half-giant of the folly of keeping a fire breathing creature in a wooden hut, they were working on all the extra homework they'd been given and trying to keep up with Hermione's crazed study plans. Draco, to the surprise of Harry and Ron, actually dared to challenge Hermione on her crazy study schedules that she'd built for each of them. Harry and Ron hadn't been present at the time but they did see the results of the altercation, she'd hexed his hair to stay poofed up as if he'd stuck his finger into an electrical outlet and also hexed his skin a nice bright neon pink.

Now the group had learned early on that Draco was a very vain boy. His hair had to always be 'just so' and he knew several charms to keep ones skin blemish free. Ron teased him on occasion, saying that he had to use make-up to look so 'perfect' to which Draco blithely responded that make-up did more damage then good to ones skin and he would never stoop to using such plebeian tools(a response which sent Ron hunting for a dictionary later). So to see him with his hair askew and his skin bright pink, frantically waving his wand over himself to try to undo Hermione's hex and looking to be on the verge of tears, well, who could blame Harry and Ron for laughing so hard they cried? Beth herself had been present for the debacle and Harry could tell that she was struggling to hold back her own laughter, though she didn't have to.

They'd dragged the haggard boy to Madam Pompfry, still laughing, and had her look him over. She'd tried several lower year counter hexes, ignoring Draco as he snapped that he'd already tried them and then moved up to the higher level counter spells. Finally one worked and Draco's appearance went back to normal. He frantically rushed over to a mirror in the room and looked himself over for anything out of place.

"Mr. Malfoy, I know you may not want to say anything but I will not abide a upper classmen hexing a first year like this. Which fourth year did this to you?"

All three boys looked gobsmacked at that and shared a look. They realized that Hermione was studying ahead again, risking her safety. admittedly sometimes the only difference between a younger year hex and an older year hex was the length of time it lasted, but you had to expend more magic to make something last a day as opposed to a few minutes. Draco met Harry's gaze with a raised brow and he shook his head in response.

"Respectfully ma'am, I didn't see who hit me." Draco said in a drawl. "Thank you for countering the mess. I need to get back to my studies."

Madam Pompfry let them go with some grumbling and the boys started back toward the library where they knew they'd find Hermione. Harry glanced at Beth and saw her rubbing at the bridge of her nose, looking aggravated.

"Hey Beth?"

"Hmm? Yes Dear Harry?"

"Can we find an Imaginary for Hermione before she hurts herself...?"

Beth the out a snort and smiled faintly. "We bond to children from infant to around six Harry, it would be vary rare indeed for her to gain an imaginary now at her age. I do understand the sentiment though. She may hurt herself if she keeps this up."

"Maybe some kind of...intervention?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

What brought up that idea to mind for Harry, was that two years ago his Aunt had staged an intervention for a neighbor, Mrs. Figg. The older lady was nice, shared cakes and cookies whenever he visited, and had a lot of cats. She avoided going out unless it was to shop for food and supplies. Aunt Petunia and her gossip club felt that it was quite unhealthy for the 'old girl' and decided to help her enjoy getting out more. They'd staged a raid on Mrs. Figg's house one fine weekend afternoon, put her through a 'make over' and dragged her out shopping for clothes, to see a movie and then to share a late dinner.

Dudley had talked him into placing a bet on if Mrs. Figg would enjoy herself or if she would end up scarred by the experience. Harry'd been annoyed with the bigger boys apparent callousness but had responded firmly that he believed that she would enjoy herself, though he had honestly doubted it, his aunt and her little circle could be a bit...much. Surprisingly enough Mrs. Figg did enjoy herself and even started going out a little more, joining Aunt Petunia's group once a week for tea, though his aunt could do nothing about the amount of cats Mrs. Figg owned, she wouldn't part with even a single one of her 'babies'.

Harry figured that something similar might need to be done for Hermione. He saw Beth's face switch to a thoughtful look and was sure she was remembering the same event. She let out a soft sigh and shrugged before looking back to him.

"'Twouldn't hurt to try."

"Alright." Harry turned to the other two boys who were appearing to politely ignore his conversation.

"So who can you two think of to help us stop Hermione from hurting herself?"

"Hmph. She is being foolish casting a Fourth year spell of all things. She's powerful though, Black blood bred true in her." Draco sounded smug, Harry moved to punch his shoulder for his arrogance and instead grinned and moved to muss his hair. Draco responded by pulling his wand.

"Don't you dare. I've had enough of that for one day, thank you Very much!"

"Twins might be able to help out." Ron said, grinning at their antics.

"Hmph, Pansy might be a better idea." Draco said as he slipped his wand away, carefully watching Harry who had painted an innocent look on his face.

"Why Pansy?" Ron asked with a blink.

"She had a cousin who was doing the same thing as Hermione. And I'm fairly certain Hermione is using the same excuses, that she is 'being careful' and 'knows her limits'. Well, to explain, Pansy's was visiting her cousin and his parents, and they ended up getting attacked during the last war. They'd wanted to stay out of the growing conflict and well...You know Who doesn't like hold-outs. Her cousin was in his third year, but practicing sixth year spells by that point all because he wanted to 'be prepared'. He'd cast a spell similar to the one that you used to protect Hermione that day with the troll." Harry felt his eyes widen. "The spell did it's job and protected Pansy, but...the only reason you're not badly hurt Harry is because of your Friend. Her cousin...he's still in a coma at St. Mungos, and even if he wakes up...he'll be a squib for the rest of his days."

"Merlin, that's horrible." Ron said with a shake of his head.

"Horrible, but just might be what we need." Harry said in a soft voice.

"Indeed." Draco said with a sigh. "I don't think she realizes the danger she's putting herself in by casting upper year spells without permission from a Professor, especially if she's practicing in secret. The energy needed for some of those upper year spells is intense."

Minds made up they detoured down to the Slytherin common rooms to talk to Pansy. After explaining the situation the girl, she immediately moved to follow them to the library a tightly contained anger radiating from her at such an intensity that Harry noticed Professor Snape starting to follow them at distance with a puzzled frown. Beth fell back a little to pace the dower professor which caused Harry to blink in surprise as she seemed to be listening to him.

Pansy signaled for the boys to wait outside the Library and then straightened her robes and stalked inside. Moments later they heard a yelp along with the sound of a book slamming shut followed by a harsh 'SHUSH' sound from Madam Pince. They heard Pansy offer an apology to the librarian and then the doors opened revealing Pansy dragging a flustered Hermione out by her hand. She let the bushy haired girl go and shut the library door tight before rounding on Hermione.

"You are a hair-brained fool of a know-it-all." She snapped at the bushy haired girl.

"Pansy what in the world is going on? I was studying!"

"Indeed! And I noticed that the book was a fourth year book!"

"I've already got all my work done! I'm just studying the theory right now!" Hermione said with a blush.

"Hermione." Draco said in a soft, but firm tone. "You know that's a lie. Madam Pompfry herself said that the spell used on me earlier was a fourth year spell."

"I know what I'm doing!" Hermione snapped at the blonde. "I'm not an idiot. I make sure to eat an extra helping and get a nap before I cast and even after I cast! I'm being careful."

"You're being a fool just like my cousin!" Pansy all but screeched. "And guess where he is!? HE'S IN A COMA IN ST. MUNGOS BECAUSE HE 'KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING'!"

Hermione shrank back from the smaller girls shriek, her eyes wide and hands held up in a surrendering gesture.

"Is that where you want to be? IS IT?" Pansy drew her wand at that point and pointed it at Hermione's nose causing the girl to squeak. Harry and Ron tried to move forward but Draco kept a grib on their arms to stop them and shook his head. "I can put you there if you'd like Hermione. Your parents and your friends will cry and cry over your unmoving, unresponsive, good as a CORPSE, form."

Harry noticed Professor Snape starting to approach the group, abandoning his place in the shadows. Draco noticed this as well and shook his head at his godfather, trying to signal for the older man to remain where he was and to let them handle the situation. Snape raised a brow, crossed his arms and leaned against a shadowed wall, watching the drama closely with his own wand out and ready to separate the group if necessary  
.

"Pansy, I'm sorry." Hermione said in a subdued voice. "I...I just want to be the best I can be...and...and the spells look so simple to me."

Pansy let out a soft sigh and slipped her wand back into its holster before grabbing Hermione by the shoulders.

"You have obviously inherited Cassiopia's brilliance, everyone can see that. The fact that even a complicated spell looks 'easy' attests to that, but you cannot keep pushing things like this, you'll damage your core if you keep this up! You should really go and see Madam Pompfry to check your core and if you really want to keep practicing higher level spells then talk to...to Professor Snape or Professor Mcgonagall, that way you'll have an accurate reading of what your limits really are and they'll be on hand if you overextend yourself."

Harry moved over to Hermione and laid a hand on her arm lightly. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"'Mione...we're worried about you." Harry indicated the others before looking back to her. "Hermione, you remember that spell that protected you from the troll?"

"Yes..." Hermione nodded.

"Beth cast that, through me, to protect you. She had to use my Core energy to maintain the shield. Remember how I wasn't allowed to cast ANY spells for several days?" Hermione nodded slowly. "Alright, now picture that I KNEW that spell and that I didn't have Beth. Had I done that on my own I'd be dead, and I'm quoting Madame Pompfry for that." Hermione gasped, eyes wide. "Madame Pompfry was Exceptionally upset with Beth for risking my safety like that. And Hermione, She Didn't Have To Cast That Spell. She's MY Imaginary, not yours, her job is to protect Me first and foremost. She did what I would have done though, which was to protect my friend from harm. She's been doing her best to not just watch over me alone but you guys as well."

Harry looked over his shoulder to Beth who was watching the scene with a small Mona Lisa-like smile. There was a fierce level of pride in her eyes at his words. He looked to Ron who was blushing, then to Draco who had a look of aristocratic pride. Pansy blushed brighter then Ron when Harry gave her a gentle smile. Finally he turned his gaze back to Hermione who was crying and he wiped away some of her tears with his sleeve.

"I'm going to do whatever I can to protect my friends." Harry tapped Hermione's nose causing her to let out a hiccuping laugh. "And if that means taking away your wand or following you 'round the clock I will. You are Important to all of us Hermione, and I never want to come across your...your dead or comatose body because you feel you have to push things. You don't."

"But...I want...I want to be..." Draco cut her off.

"You're already a great asset to the Black family, Hermione." The blonde moved forward and placed a hand on top of her head. "Even now your marks are showing to be the highest out of everyone. You've got me beat!"

"Hmph, and what rank are you for our year?" Ron said with a snicker. "Last?"

Draco sniffed at the red-head. "Second so far."

Rons jaw dropped in shock and the others shared a small laugh at the boys surprise. Hermione's chuckle was a bit watery, but at least she was smiling again. Harry had an idea and glanced toward Professor Snape and gave the man a wink and a smile which caused the professor to frown. Harry suddenly spoke up.

"Here comes Professor Snape now Hermione. You should ask him."

Professor Snape rolled his eyes and slipped away his wand, having understood Harry's intent. He started along down the hall as if he was just on his normal patrol, smoothly coming out of the shadows. Hermione looked past Harry and let out a soft squeak of surprise. With a gentle nudge from both Harry and Pansy the girl gathered her courage and walked over to the grim-faced man.

Harry and the others shared a look of success mixed with relief that their plan had worked and she was getting help.

-=-=/*/*-**-/*/=-=-

A few days later found Harry and his friends near the end of the Gryfindor table, even Draco was sitting there talking amicably about their classes. The mail arrived and Hedwig landed on Harrys shoulder, a small note attached to her leg. He fed her a bit of bacon and took the note. He absently scratched her head as he opened the note and had to bite back a squeak of surprise. The others stopped talking and looked to him.

"It's Hagrid. You-know-what is hatching." Harry said softly.

That sparked an argument about skipping their next class, herbology. Ron wanted to go now while Hermione was firm that they should go to class. Harry and Draco both looked conflicted. Beth patted Harry's shoulder to get his attention.

"Yeah Beth?" The others stopped their argument and nibbled at their food, focusing on Harry's part of the conversation without seeming to.

"Dragon eggs take some time to hatch."

"So we don't have to skip class then?"

"Herbology lasts an hour and it can take even longer then that for most average hatchings."

"Huh, thanks, I'd rather not skip class if it's going to take that long for the...event...to happen."

He turned back to the others and gave them a small smile.

"Beth says it's gonna take an hour or more. We don't have to skip class."

Hermione looked relieved, she really hated getting into trouble, Ron looked disappointed in the fact it was going to take so long and Draco was nodded slowly though he also looked a bit disappointed.

Herbology was only an hour long class but today it felt like several hours had passed for Harry and his group before they were finally let out. They met up with Draco and then hightailed it down to Hagrid's hut. Beth was trailing after them at a more sedate pace.

Hagrid let them in quickly, a look of excitement on his face. They all crowded around the table where the egg was currently laying, cracks marring the once smooth surface. They heard muffled clicking noises coming from inside the egg and all leaned in close while the egg wobbled.

Beth moved in close and started murmuring softly. The egg went still for several long moments before there was a decisive chirp and suddenly the egg split down the middle and the baby dragon flopped onto the table. Hermione let out a soft cooing sound, Draco was looking the baby over carefully in a way that was similar to his aunt Marge and her dogs, Ron was grinning broadly.

The little gangly looking dragon baby with wings too big for its size looked around at them and then sneezed. Hermione giggled at the sight.

"Isn't he Beautiful?" Hagrid crooned reaching out to pet the young dragon. The little one bit at his hand and hissed causing Beth to laugh.

"Bless him! Look! He knows his mommy!" Hagrid said with a grin. Beth cracked up, holding her sides.

Harry looked at her with a blink of surprise.

"Beth? What's so funny?"

All she could do was point at the baby dragon and Hagrid and laugh. He was finally able to make out one word, 'female!' between her gasps.

"Wait? It's a girl?" He asked and Beth nodded quickly still laughing.

Harry looked to the others who were blinking at him owlishly.

"She finds it exceptionally funny for some reason but the baby's a girl Hagrid, not a boy."

"Ah...well." Hagrid blinked a bit in surprise and looked down at the affronted looking baby dragon. "Sorry 'bout that. Girl eh? Well, yer still very beautiful."

He reached out to pet the baby dragon and this time there was no bite, the baby dragon allowed him to pet her and even let out a contented sound that seemed a cross between a purr and a cough. Beth finally stood up and let out a contented sigh.

"Ahhh. Haven't laughed that hard for a while now. Dear Harry do let Hagrid know that when dragon babes hatch they have a five year olds intelligence and that they also know if they are male or female. Poor thing was quite insulted. Remember, dragons are prideful creatures, and while the dragons of this world may never have more intelligence then a ten year old, they can still understand quite a bit."

Harry relayed the information to the others, Draco and Hermione both looked intrigued at the knowledge while Hagrid nodded solemnly, taking the advice to heart. He looked down at the young female with a small frown.

"I was gonna name 'em Norbert, but since she's a girl..." Hagrid seemed to give it some thought and then shrugged. "Norberta?"

Harry and the others facepalmed while Beth started snickering again. Harry reached back to smack at her but she nimbly moved out of the way with a wide grin. To Harrys surprise the dragonling was tilting her head in consideration before she let out a chirping sound, bounding forward to nuzzle against Hagrid beard.

"Ah, likes it she does! Hello Norberta!" Hagrid aid with a smile and patted her on the head again. Beth kept snickering.

Harry leaned back a bit and muttered to her.

"What the heck is so funny?"

"...hehe... 'Hairy Mommy-daddy'..." Beth said with a wide grin.

Harry let out a laugh at that himself.

-=-=/*/*-**-/*/=-=-

Over the next week Harry and his group helped Hagrid out in feeding Norberta her meals of chicken blood and brandy. Well, the boys helped with the feeding, Hermione refused to get near the bucket but was happy to play with Norberta. Knowing that the baby dragon at least had the intelligence of a five year old made dealing with the hatchling a lot easier, but still after a week she'd grown to three times her size.

Hermione did some rough calculations and bounced them off Harry (to relay to Beth) and figured out that Norberta would out grow Hagrid's hut within the month. Hagrid was understandably upset when he was convinced of the problem.

"I can't jus' release her into the wild! She won' be able ter protect herself!"

Harry and the others understood Hagrids concern. They sat together one day near the lake and tried to brainstorm an idea. The boys thought building a habitat or finding a cave in the forest might work but Hermione nixed that idea.

"Centuars live in the forest and if they found Norberta they'd kill her for being a danger to the herd. Remember, dragons can and will eat anything if they are hungry enough...even humans."

They fell into a sullen silence for a long while, laying back and looking at the sky. Suddenly both Harry and Draco sat up and shouted.

"Charlie!"

"You're both gettin' as nutty as Hagrid!" Ron said with a shake of his head. "I'm Ron, remember?"

"Not you, you buffoon!" Draco said grinning at Harry as he realised they had the same idea. "Your brother, the Dragon handler?"

"He's in Romania right? We can send a letter to him with Hedwig and see if he can 'rescue' Norberta!"

"Brilliant!" Ron and Hermione both shouted, Beth was smiling gently in pride at the group.

The group raced back to Hagrids' and went over the plan with him. He hemmed and hawed for a long while before accepting the idea. With an acceptable plan ready, Ron penned a letter to his brother and then they called for Hedwig. It took a gift of a nice plump mouse for her to be willing to go to Romania (they'd tried the normal offering of bacon first) but she finally started her trip once her meal was finished.

A week later they were still sneaking to and from Hagrid's hut to help him out with the rapidly growing Norberta. There had been no sign of Hedwig and they were all starting to worry. Norberta's size had increased as expected and she was now almost as big as Fang. Thankfully she was moderately well behaved, she hadn't torn Hagrid's hut apart like they'd feared, nor had she set anything on fire. Beth'd said she would have been worse had they continued to make the mistake of assuming she was a male because she'd have acted out in almost violent rebellion each time someone made that mistake.

When asked to clarify that she'd asked Harry how he would feel if he couldn't speak and everyone called him a girl while growing up even though he knew he was a boy, wouldn't he feel upset and want to lash out at everything and everyone including 'mommy'? He'd conceding the point after that.

Finally though they got the responding letter from Charlie and found that he'd agreed to the plan. They'd need to get Norberta up to the highest tower that Saturday to pull it off. Harry found himself grateful once more to whomever sent him his father's invisibility cloak. It would make it perfect for transferring Norberta to the tower for the pick up.

The only issue was that, after getting a box to put Norberta in, only two people could fit safely under the cloak with the box. That left them trying to decide who would carry the box and who would be the look out. Initially it was going to be Harry and Ron who would carry the box and Draco would keep a look out, but Hermione nixed that plan when she said to Harry, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a friend who can't be seen? That friend would make the best possible look-out wouldn't they?' The boys had shared a gobsmacked look at having forgotten but Harry immediately went to Beth and asked her to be their look-out.

"You want me to help you break the rules?" She'd asked in surprise.

"Well...kinda? I mean Hagrid's gonna get in a lot of trouble if anyone finds out he has a baby dragon. And Ron's brother Charlie can take Norberta and give her a better home, teach her how to be wild, ya know? And we don't want to get caught taking her up to the tower 'cause then Hagrid will definitely be in trouble and..."

She cut him off mid rant with a faint smile and ruffled his hair.

"You're a brave boy, risking trouble for your friends. I will help in this situation as no malice nor 'party' is planned."

Harry'd blushed at the mention of a 'party' and went to inform the others that Beth had agreed to help.

The group found out rather painfully about 'Murphy's Law' a few days before the move. Ron had been playing with Norberta with a sock stuffed with a branch and on one of the lunges to grab the wrapped branch Ron didn't pull his hand back fast enough and her teeth scratched his hand. They didn't pay it too much attention and Ron wasn't too upset with her since she immediately started acting remorseful and licked at him with worried noises. The next day however found his hand swollen and the cuts from her teeth were a nasty shade of green.

"Blast it." Hermione said with a frown, looking over the wound. "I knew I should have done some reading on dragons and if certain breeds were poisonous. We're lucky we've hadn't gotten bitten up til now."

When Draco slipped into the tower to meet up with them before breakfast (he still got teased every now and again by the twins but at least they weren't hexing him), and had taken one look at Ron's hand before ordering the boy to go to the hospital wing.

"But what are we going to tell her?" Ron asked with a blink.

"Tell her that we were at the lake and something darted out of the water and nipped you when you were throwing stones. We do that all the time and really we don't know what all is in the lake. I'll back you up."

With that Harry and Hermione went to breakfast while Draco took Ron to the Hospital wing to get his hand treated. After classes the three went back up to check on Ron. His hand looked loads better but he was on bed rest for a few days because of it.

"Madam Pompfry was doubtful but we kept the descriptions of the attack vague enough that she hasn't called us out on it."

"Hmph, imagine if you'd said something foolish like 'a dog bit me'" Draco said with a smirk.

"Yeah well we're not all as sneaky with our excuses like Slytherin's." Ron answered with no real heat.

Harry and Draco started practicing when they could with the cloak and the box, even managing to coax Norberta within so they could get an handle on her weight. Finally Saturday arrived and while they were still nervous they felt that they could get the dragonling up to the tower without worry. Hagrid said a teary goodbye to Norberta who had just figured out that she was really being sent away and that they weren't playing games. She almost tore into the teddy bear Hagrid had gotten for her in a snit and Beth instructed Harry to give her a small thump on the nose and slowly explain that she was going somewhere where she would be safe and that Hagrid didn't want her to go but he wouldn't be able to protect her like a good 'mommy' should and didn't she want to keep something from her 'mommy'? Norberta had quieted down at that, letting out mournful sounds and snuggling up to Hagrid for several long moments before she daintily picked up the teddy and went into the box.

With Beth acting as a look out they managed to easily avoid Filch and Professor Mcgonnagal who were on patrol that night. They got to the highest tower and settled down to wait for Charlie friends. About ten minutes later they showed up. They were a cheerful bunch and were able to get Norberta harnessed up for the flight. They commented in amazement at her gentle(for a dragon) demeanor, but Harry and Draco wouldn't elaborate.

Once she was gone they started back down the corridor talking softly about how they were relieved that she was gone, only to be chased back up the stairs by Beth, who warned then that Filch was on his way up and asking where the blue blazes the cloak was. Harry and Draco fled back up the stairs and made it under the cloak just as Filch reached the top. They huddled close to each other, bent over so that they were sure the cloak was covering them and carefully circled around Flich as he looked around the top. They started to make their way toward the dungeons so Draco could get safely inside when they ran into Neville.

They all fell down with yelps and the cloak fell free of Harry and Draco without them really noticing. They looked at Neville in confusion.

"What are you doing out this late?" Harry asked with a blink.

"I um...trying to find you...I was worried." Neville stood up and helped the other two to their feet. "You've taken so long getting rid...of you-know-what...that I worried you got caught."

"Oh...Well things went off smoothly, we just had to dodge Filch is all." Harry answered with a grin, Beth was trying to get his attention and he turned to look only to have his attention brought back to the other two.

"Wait a sec..." Draco started in a suspicious tone. "How the heck did y-"

"WHAT is going ON here?!"

All three jumped in fear at the sound of Professor McGonnagal's voice.

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Yay! chappie done!

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